Rourkela: After two days of sit-in demonstration, the 12 protesting councillors of Rajgangpur Municipality called off their strike Friday after their demand for cancellation of the tenders was met. Project director of District Urban Development Agency Lalit Soreng was specially sent Friday morning to intervene in the impasse that was continuing for the last two days. After over three hours of prolonged discussions, it was decided to cancel the tenders floated and awarded earlier and re-do the process. Speaking about the development vice chairman of Rajgangpur civic body MD Irfan said, “It has been decided to cancel the paver block work, along with cc road and crematorium. All the councillors will again put a list of works in their wards August 28. Soon after the verification of sites, the final decision will be taken.
However, the 5T work will go on as usual.” Following the submission of councillors’ lists an emergency meeting will be held September 2 where the final decision will be taken. In the absence of chairman Madhuri Lugun, who has been hospitalised, vice chairman Md Irfan will preside over the meeting. Apart from the councillors, representatives of MLA and MP will remain present during the meet. The demonstration, for people in the know of things, was more political than administrative in nature. 12 councillors — four from Congress, three from BJP, four from BJD and one independent – staged a sit-in demanding the cancellation of the tenders, which the authority said had been processed with transparency. “We want that the tenders, which have been awarded illegally, be cancelled immediately otherwise we will continue to demonstrate,” one of the councillors said on condition of anonymity. The protesting councillors have alleged that the tender is totally illegal and should be cancelled. “There has been no resolution for the tender to begin and although works have been awarded for most of the wards, there are glaring examples of neglect to some wards. That is why we are demanding cancellation of tenders,” said one of the protesters.
Meanwhile, politically informed sources said Thursday that this was nothing but a threat to the elected body of the civic body headed by Madhuri Lugun of BJD, who is presently admitted to a private hospital at Rourkela. The presence of the four BJD MLAs shows there is some sinister design behind the entire demonstration, they added. Vice chairman Md Irfan said, “There is no threat to the body.” Their whole idea is to build pressure and replace the existing chairman Lugun. Meanwhile, EO Govind Dansena Thursday said, “We passed the tender resolution August 16 with everybody’s consent. Then this was typed and made ready. Meanwhile, Lugun was hospitalised and the printed copy could not be signed and distributed among all the councillors. And now they are saying they were not part of the process and the tenders should be cancelled.” Notably, the Rajgangpur Municipality has received massive funds for developmental works.