BJD Govt laid 'foundation stone for land grabbing': BJP leader

Bhubaneswar, Sept 10: Taking a dig at the Naveen Patnaik Government over alleged land scam in Odisha, senior BJP leader Bijay Mohapatra today claimed that the ruling BJD laid the 'foundation stone' for 'land grabbing' in the state.

"It was during BJD rule that the foundation stone for land grabbing was laid. Rules and forest laws were flouted for the benefit of land mafia," he alleged.

Talking to reporters here, Mohapatra alleged the state government's panchayati raj department had granted Rs five lakh for the construction of a road in forest land in controversial Ghangapatna on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar in violation of forest conservation law.

An order in this regard had been issued on February 15, 2010, he said claiming a modified order was given on March 12, 2010 to ensure the road stretches up to a certain boundary wall only to help land grabbers. Stating that a host of BJD leaders and their kin were involved in illegal land grabbing, he said the chief minister should provide a clarification to the people as to how the illegalities were allowed.

Orissa HC had in 2002 directed the state government to formulate a clear policy on land allotment but the government showed little interest to follow the order, he said, seeking an explanation on it from Patnaik. A decision of the cabinet sub-committee on land allotment was also not implemented, he claimed, adding a cabinet memo was subsequently suppressed.

Besides, the land settlement work which was on since 1995 in Khurda's Jatni and Chandaka area was suddenly halted by de-notifying earlier notification without any valid reason, Mohapatra alleged, adding all these were apparently done to facilitate illegal land acquisition by unscrupulous elements. The BJP leader said the party has sought a thorough probe by CBI to "unravel truth and expose the culprits."

He also criticised the government on ponzi scheme scam and said the ongoing CBI investigation into it had jolted many ruling party leaders. The Odisha government, he claimed, had signed several MoUs with a ponzi company for food processing unit, entertainment business and tourist facilities.

Subsequently the MoUs were scrapped and the government, particularly the chief minister, were responsible for entering into tie up with a dubious ponzi firm without verifying its credentials, he alleged.

PTI