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Bhubaneswar: Political bickering gained momentum in Odisha after the report of the Task Force headed by senior IAS Tara Datta on illegal allotment of plots and flats under the discretionary quota got leaked in media.
Senior BJP leader Suresh Pujari said as the ruling party is in the back foot over chit fund and mining scams, BJD got an opportunity to put the saffron party in trouble.
“Why not the task force probed the plot or flat allotments done since 1990 when late BIju Patnaik’s Janta Dal was in power in the state?” Pujari asked.
BJD spokesperson Samir Das said the role of BJP in the DQ matter is questionable.
“In the last 15 days, the saffron party’s state leaders changed their views thrice pointing fingers at them,” Das added.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Pradeep Majhi welcomed the task force’s recommendations to the state government.
“We should see what steps the government will take regarding the issue,” Majhi added.
Notably, in its report, the task force said 2,200 flats and plots were allotted while misusing the discretionary quota in between 1995 and 2014.
As many as 200 persons including ministers, MLAs, bureaucrats and journalists were allotted more than one plot from BDA, CDA, Odisha State Housing Board and GA department, the report added.
The task force said hundreds of plots were allotted to these persons on basis of grab, preposition and transfer basis.
BDA, CDA and Odisha State Housing Board’s employees also took more than one flat or plot at throwaway price, the report said.
The task force recommended the state government to cancel these plot and flat allotments within three months and take possessions, said sources.
The report also asked for a probe through an independent agency into the allotments under DQ.
