July 20th 2024.
The government of Odisha has announced that they will be conducting an investigation into the alleged improper allocation of land for the construction of the Biju Janata Dal's state headquarters, Sankha Bhavan. The location of this building has caused quite a stir, as it is situated in the heart of the state capital. The Revenue and Disaster Management Minister, Suresh Pujari, made this announcement on Saturday.
The BJD, led by former chief minister Naveen Patnaik, has denied any wrongdoing and has accused the BJP government of being "intolerant" towards the opposition party. Minister Pujari stated that the alleged irregularities in the land allotment will be thoroughly looked into and those responsible will face punishment.
The BJD headquarters was constructed on four plots of land, covering an area of 1 acre and 183 decimal in Ganganagar Mouza. It has been alleged that one of these plots was originally meant for a road, but was later converted into the 'gharabari kisam' category, which allows for the construction of houses. An official stated that these plots were leased to the BJD by the General Administration Department, with strict conditions that the land category cannot be changed.
Furthermore, it has been claimed that all rules and regulations were disregarded when the plots were transferred to the BJD at a very low price. However, the BJD has refuted these claims and has stated that the land was allotted to them at the benchmark value and a total of Rs 13 crore was paid for the land.
Senior vice-president Debi Prasad Mishra addressed the media, stating that the BJP government is showing intolerance towards the opposition party. He clarified that the land allotment for the BJD headquarters was done in accordance with the rules and that the BJP also received a plot of land measuring 1 acre and 269 decimal in Kharavel Nagar.
When asked about the merging of a plot meant for a road with three other land parcels for the construction of the BJD headquarters, Mishra explained that it was not a public road, but a conservancy lane between two quarters. BJD's organisational secretary, Pranab Prakash Das, also defended the party against the accusations made by the Revenue Minister, stating that there were no irregularities in the land allotment for their office.
Das further clarified that a committee had been responsible for allotting land to both the BJD and BJP for their respective party offices. The BJD has maintained that the construction of Sankha Bhavan followed all necessary procedures and there were no discrepancies in the land allotment on lease. The party has also accused the Revenue Minister of being unaware of the facts regarding their land allocation.
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