A group of Right To Information (RTI) activists on January 18 protested at the office of the Executive Engineer of Roads and Building Division-2, demanding information pertaining to government funds used for the renovation of the official residence of Jajpur MLA Pranab Prakash Das and the organisational secretary of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in the capital city of Bhubaneswar.
Activists alleged the issue was not concerning one individual only, but related to mismanagement of valuable government property.
“I had sought volume of fund spent on renovation of official residence of Mr. Das, who is an MLA and senior leader of ruling BJD. The R&B Division-2, which executed renovation, did not supply required information,” said Prakash Chandra Das, the activist who sought information.
He stated, “following the denial of information, I had made first appeal and subsequently, a second appeal. However, I have not received the requested information yet. I am surprised, as the information sought is straightforward and poses no threat to the interests of the State.”
“The denial of information gives rise to suspicion that the government is hiding information deliberately to cover up attempts of altering government regulation regarding renovation of government properties,” he said.
Activists alleged they suspected that huge funds had been spent in government quarters to give it the look of a star hotel.
The Jajpur MLA, who has been a member of the Odisha Legislative Assembly since 2009, is in charge of the overall organisational affairs of the party.
Activists, who gathered under the banner of Odisha Soochana Adhikar Abhiyan (OSAA), further alleged that the Naveen Patnaik government had not adopted any transparency in allotting valuable government land for party offices of BJD and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Bhubaneswar.
“The State government usually takes auction route to realise highest possible value of government properties while allocating the same to a private entity. In case of two political parties, allotment of lands, which were carved out by demolition of government quarters, were done in hush-hush manner,” charged Pradip Pradhan, convenor of OSSA.
OSSA activists demanded a white paper on government properties allotted to private organisations and individuals and the guidelines guiding the decision of allotment.
