Angul: Expelled BJD leader Damodar Rout Saturday targeted the state government, saying that farmers are worst neglected during the 19 years of BJD governance. He said this while addressing a general meeting on ‘Role of Right to Information against a Corrupt Government’ at Angul.
Though the BJD government is ruling the state for 19 years, the farmlands in the state are yet to receive irrigation facilities. Despite the fact that the upstream Hirakud receives sufficient rainfall, the government has done little to preserve the water. Instead of doing that, it keeps on quarrelling with the Chhattisgarh government. With the government being apathetic towards solving farmers’ issues, they are under the burden loan and suffer crop loss every year. This forces them to commit suicide, he alleged.
“In the current season, cultivation has not been undertaken on 36 per cent of the total 61 lakh hectares in the state. Yet the government is taking pride in being awarded for agriculture. Share croppers are being harassed by the land owners, who give loans at four per cent interest. The government is paying Rs 14,000 crore towards agricultural loan, but 70 per cent of this amount goes to non-farmers,” Dama alleged.
Criticising the state government, Rout further said that there is corruption from top to bottom. No fees, no movement of file has become the norm here. In case of Cabinet decision, a minister has just to pass the file though the CMO.
Womenfolk in the state feel insecure as justice is not meted to them. Money of several companies is being put to use in ‘Aahar yojana’. People who lost their land to NLACO plant are yet to get employment, he said.
Among others, Rabi Das, state convener of Odisha Right to Information Campaign, Pradeep Pradhan, secretary of Odisha Durniti Sangharsha Manch, Sudhir Mohanty and Right to Information activists Priyabrata Gadnayak, Babita Panda and Jitendra Sahoo attended the meeting.
PNN