Bhubaneswar: The state leadership of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Thursday met Governor Ganeshi Lal and sought his intervention in the BJD government’s alleged act of hijacking Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).
Leader of Opposition in Odisha Assembly Pradipta Naik targeted Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for taking credit for the central scheme. He also said that as per norms, the nomenclature of a central scheme cannot be changed even if the state pumps in more funds into a centrally sponsored scheme.
“The Chief Minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik has been working towards claiming large portion of credit of a centrally sponsored scheme. We condemn such attempts of the government in Odisha. Even if a state government gives 90 per cent of funding in a flagship programme of a centrally sponsored scheme its nomenclature cannot be changed,” he said. He also added, “But it is a matter of shame that the state, which has 40 per cent share in PMAY, has been claiming that benefits are from state exchequer. The posters show Biju Pucca Ghar texts in bigger fonts than that of PMAY. Despite having the funding from the state government the state is not entitled to sabotage a centrally sponsored scheme.” The BJP leader said that they had already raised the issue in the Odisha Assembly. “Today we met the Governor and apprised him of the situation. We want to urge the state government to make adequate budgetary allocation for Biju Pucca Ghar Scheme and not snatch the credit out of the PMAY scheme,” he said.