Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister, Mohan Charan Majhi, Thursday targeted the Opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD), alleging that the party had used Ganjam district for its political interests for 24 years while ignoring the plight of people displaced by various developmental projects, including the Army Air Defence College.
CM Majhi made the remarks while launching a special Rehabilitation and Resettlement package worth over Rs 75,60,30,000 for the Nolia families of Golabandha in Ganjam district, who were displaced in 1984 for the construction of the Army Air Defence College.
The announcement, made during a special programme held at Golabandha Thursday, came as a major relief to the 1,371 displaced Nolia families, who had been waiting for decades for a resolution to their plight.
During the event, CM Majhi also distributed, in the first phase, land records (pattas) for homestead and agricultural land to 96 of the 112 families displaced by the Chheligada Medium Irrigation Project.
The Chief Minister said that once the Chheligada Project is completed by the end of next year, more than 6,000 hectares of land in Ganjam and Gajapati districts will be brought under irrigation.
At the beginning of the programme, women from Golabandha tied rakhis on the Chief Minister’s wrist and welcomed him in an emotional atmosphere. Following this, the Chief Minister personally handed over land pattas to the beneficiaries on the stage.
Addressing the gathering, the Chief Minister said, “The struggle and sacrifice of the residents of Golabandha are immense. Our government has permanently solved this problem, which had remained ignored for 4 long decades since the handover of land for the Army Air Defence College in 1984. While the leadership representing Ganjam district during the past 24 years of rule kept the voices of the Nolia families suppressed, this issue has been given priority after the coming of the ‘Double Engine’ government.”
Notably, under the special package announced by the Chief Minister, a one-time compensation of Rs 5 lakh per family is being provided through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) to 1,371 eligible families, amounting to a total of Rs 68.55 crore, to help them achieve financial self-reliance.
This apart, an amount of Rs 4.25 crore has been allocated as housing assistance, under which 998 incomplete houses will be completed and 10 new houses will be constructed. Besides, more than Rs 2.80 crore has been sanctioned for infrastructure development in the new Kirtipur Colony.
In his address, CM Majhi highlighted various initiatives taken by the state government for the overall development of Ganjam district.
“The Opposition, considering Ganjam as their impregnable fortress for 24 years, merely played politics, but never understood the plight of the displaced. Even though this district gave the state a Chief Minister 5 times, the voice of the poor Nolias could not reach the corridors of power,” said Majhi.
