Bhubaneswar: Bringing serious allegations against senior BJD MLA and former minister Pradeep Maharathy, the state BJP Monday alleged that the Pipli legislator has grabbed government land worth over Rs 100 crore.
Addressing a press conference here, BJP spokesperson Golak Mohapatra said the BJD MLA has grabbed land worth more than Rs 100 crore adjoining his farmhouse at Hunkeipur in Pipli.
Terming Maharathy as a ‘land mafia’, he alleged that the former minister has encroached upon land of Podhaguna and Panidolo villages and merged the parcel of lands in his farmhouse. Mohapatra also presented some documents to substantiate his claim.
This amounts to cognisable crime as per Odisha prevention of land Encroachment –Act 1973 and Odisha Prevention of Land Communal Forest- Act 1980, he said.
The BJP leader also alleged that former Congress MLA of Pipli, Yudhistir Samantray was also involved in land grabbing and encroachment in the Pipli area.
He further alleged that Samantray in collusion with Maharathy has registered 56 acres of land in Pipli tehsil estimated to be around Rs 300 crore in his name.
In 2015, Samantray had moved the Orissa High Court levelling land grab charges against Maharathy. Following this, the court had directed the Puri district administration to resolve the matter within two months.
But, the petitioner, Samantray did not visit the then Collector. Moreover, the former Congress MLA and the Pipli MLA jointly grabbed land in Pipli, alleged Mohapatra.
The BJP leader called on the state government to take action against Samantray and Maharathy under 5T programme. In his reaction, Maharathy said the state government will look into the Opposition allegations while Samantray rejected the charges.
Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Sudam Marndi said, “If any such case comes to my table officially, I will certainly look into the matter.”
