Bhubaneswar/Bolangir, Nov 14 Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday accused the previous BJD government in Odisha of working for land, sand, coal and mining mafias instead of the people, alleging that thousands of poor families were deprived of pucca houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).
Chouhan made the allegations while addressing a public meeting in Bolangir after handing over work orders to Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi for the construction of 5 lakh houses under the PMAY-Gramin scheme.
“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.
Rejecting the Union minister’s allegation, the BJD in a statement said, “Chouhan’s remarks are misleading and unfortunate. The BJP government is attempting to conceal its failures by turning the housing scheme into a political weapon.”
Addressing the gathering, 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 Bolangir district.
“I want this pilot project to be launched in Bolangir 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.
Alleging that the previous BJD government had committed an “injustice” against the poor in the state, Chouhan said 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.
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 Bolangir 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 also be connected through pucca roads.
Briefing reporters, BJD senior vice-president Deb Prasad Mishra claimed that between 2014-15 and 2023-24, more than 40 lakh pucca houses were completed in the state through various schemes.
“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.
“A significant portion of the houses being distributed today by Majhi is 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, over the last 28 months, has done nothing and is blaming others for its failure.
(PTI News)
