LIVE TV
Odisha
Recommended Stories
Bhubaneswar: The recent directive of Odisha government to use the logo of former CM Late Biju Patnaik on houses constructed under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) has not gone down well particularly with BJP in the State. Raising the issue in Odisha Assembly, Leader of Opposition (LoP) Pradipta Naik on Monday categorically stated that Biju logo cannot be used on walls of houses constructed under PMAY.
It is pertinent to mention here that both ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are at loggerheads over rural housing schemes with the latter accusing the ruling party in the State of indulging in massive irregularities in implementation of the scheme in State.
“Biju logo cannot be used for PMAY. When the Centre is funding for the project, why should Biju logo be used,” questioned Naik.
Naik further stated that while many schemes in Odisha are funded by the Centre, why there is a problem in giving credit?
Government chief whip Pramilla Mallik, on the other hand, stated that when Odisha government is sharing 40 per cent expenditure, why it cannot use Biju logo?
Echoing similar views, BJD MLA Debi Prasad Mishra said from Jawaharlal Nehru to Manmohan Singh’s term, the Centre was funding 100 per cent of the rural housing projects. But when Narendra Modi became Prime Minister in 2014, fund sharing ratio between Centre and State was changed to 60:40.
“When the Centre has contributed nearly Rs 12,000 crore for housing under PMAY in the last two to three years in the State, Odisha government has contributed Rs 6,000 crore. Already the rural housing scheme has been merged and called as Biju Pucca Ghar-PMAY as there was additional burden on the State government,” said Mishra.
Mishra further stated that, “In West Bengal, Pradhan Mantrai Sadak Yojana is being called as Bangla Sadak Yojana. Instead of mudsling, efforts should be made to ensure that left out beneficiaries are covered and transparency is maintained.”
