Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government will probe into the alleged irregularities in the allotment of land for the construction of opposition BJD’s state headquarters, Sankha Bhavan, in the heart of the state capital, a minister said Saturday.
The BJD, headed by former chief minister Naveen Patnaik, however, rejected the allegation and claimed that the BJP government is “intolerant” towards the opposition party.
Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari said, “The alleged irregularities in land allotment for Biju Janata Dal (BJD) office will be thoroughly probed. The people responsible for the alleged irregularities will certainly be punished.”
The BJD headquarters was built over four plots covering 1 acre 183 decimal at Ganganagar Mouza.
It was alleged that one of four plots was meant for a road and it was converted into the ‘gharabari kisam’ category before the BJD office was built.
The ‘gharabari kisam’ is a category of land on which one can build houses.
“The land plots were allotted to the BJD by the General Administration Department on lease. The terms and conditions of the lease made it clear that the land category cannot be changed,” an official said.
It was also alleged that all “rules and regulations were overlooked” for the transfer of the plots from the government at a “throwaway price”.
The BJD, however, rejected all the allegations.
Addressing a press conference, its senior vice-president Debi Prasad Mishra said, “The BJP government is intolerant towards the opposition party”.
He claimed that the land allotment for the BJD headquarters in Ganganagar was made “as per the benchmark value norms and a total of Rs 13 crore was paid”.
“The allotment of land was done in accordance with the rules. The BJD was allotted 1 acre 183 decimal land, while the BJP also got a piece of land measuring 1 acre and 269 decimal at Kharavel Nagar in the state capital,” Mishra told reporters.
Replying to a question about the “merger” of a plot meant for a road with three other land parcels for the construction of the BJD headquarters, Mishra said, “It was not a public road, but a conservancy lane between two quarters.”
BJD’s organisational secretary Pranab Prakash Das also lashed out at the revenue minister, accusing him of “being ignorant of facts pertaining to the allotment of land to the party”.
There were “no irregularities in the allotment of land to the BJD on lease and the construction of Sankha Bhawan”, Das said, adding that a committee had allotted land for offices of BJD and BJP.
PTI