Bhubaneswar/Balangir: BJD Saturday hit back at Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan over his allegation that”the previous government in Odisha worked for land, sand, coal and mining mafias instead of the people,” calling his remarks “misleading and unfortunate”.
In a statement, the BJD accused the BJP government of “attempting to conceal its failures by turning the housing scheme into a political weapon.”
Chouhan made the allegations while addressing a public meeting in Balangir after handing over work orders to Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi for the construction of 5 lakh houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G).
“The previous BJD government worked for the welfare of the mafia and not for the poor people. The BJP governments at the Centre and in Odisha will do everything for the overall development of the state,” the Union Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development said.
Alleging that the previous BJD government had committed an “injustice” against the poor, Chouhan claimed that investigations into the implementation of the PMAY had exposed a major scam.
“Many ineligible persons were fraudulently included in the list of beneficiaries under the PMAY, due to which genuinely poor people were denied houses under the scheme. The BJD snatched away the rights of the poor in Odisha,” the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister alleged.
He also alleged that “irregularities in the implementation of the housing scheme had prevented the state from securing adequate housing units for poor families.”
However, Chouhan said the present BJP government was committed to ensuring that all eligible beneficiaries received the benefits of the scheme.
“No eligible beneficiary will be deprived of their rightful entitlement to a house,” he said, adding that the government would ensure a pucca roof over the heads of every poor family.
Briefing reporters, BJD senior vice-president Debi Prasad Mishra said more than 40 lakh pucca houses had been completed in Odisha through various schemes between 2014-15 and 2023-24.
“Odisha had emerged as one of the leading states in the country in rural housing according to the central government’s own data,” Mishra said.
He also said a significant portion of the houses being distributed by Majhi was based on processes initiated and beneficiary selection carried out during the previous BJD government.
“Therefore, denying the contribution of the previous government and projecting its achievements as one’s own is unfortunate. While the beneficiaries were selected on the basis of gram sabha decisions during BJD tenure, the norms are not followed now. Describing such a transparent process as a scam by the Union minister is politically motivated,” Mishra said.
Congress MLA Taraprasad Bahinipati alleged that the BJP government had done nothing over the last 28 months and was blaming others for its failure.
At the meeting, Chouhan also announced that the Centre was planning to launch a pilot project aimed at bringing more families out of poverty. He expressed his desire to launch the initiative in Balangir district.
“I want this pilot project to be launched in Balangir district. I invite the chief minister and ministers of the departments concerned to come to Delhi for a discussion,” he said.
Chouhan further claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s initiatives had helped more than 49 crore people come out of poverty over the past decade. He said the welfare schemes launched by the Modi government had helped poor families improve their standard of living.
Referring to women’s empowerment initiatives undertaken by the Majhi government, Chouhan said 29 lakh women in the state had already become ‘Lakhpati Didis’.
“Every woman in Odisha will become a Lakhpati Didi in this state,” he said.
The Centre had decided to disburse Rs 10 lakh crore over the next five years to create more ‘Lakhpati Didis’, he added.
Chouhan also expressed satisfaction over the state’s progress in implementing the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana.
“On the way to Balangir by helicopter, I could see a large number of solar panels being installed on houses in the district. This is praiseworthy. I congratulate Majhi on this success,” he said.
Odisha would be illuminated through the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, he added.
Outlining the government’s plans for rural development, Chouhan said Odisha would receive approximately Rs 4,000 crore this year under the Viksit Bharat-G RAM G scheme.
“This would provide every panchayat with Rs 25 lakh to Rs 50 lakh annually. Over five years, smaller panchayats would receive up to Rs 1 crore and larger panchayats up to Rs 2 crore for development works. The funds could be used to build roads, drains, schools and panchayat buildings, improve road connectivity to farmers’ fields and construct ponds for water conservation,” he said.
He also said that following the approval of 1,700 km of roads under the fourth phase of the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, all remaining villages would be connected through pucca roads.
