Row over housing quota allotments in Odisha
November 14th, 2011 - 3:11 pm ICT by IANSBhubaneswar, Nov 14 (IANS) The allotment of houses and land to individuals for the past several decades under the state’s discretionary quota has sparked off a major row in Odisha, with an anti-graft group Monday demanding they be cancelled.
Some local and national media outlets recently exposed the names of several political and non-political people who have been allegedly provided the land and houses in posh areas of the of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack.
The state unit of anti-graft group India Against Corruption (IAC) said all such allotments should be cancelled and the discretionary system should get abolished for ever.
“Such corruption can be stopped only when we scrap this quota system. All the previous allotments should be cancelled,” Nishikant Mohapatra of IAC told IANS. “The discretionary power has always been used for corrupt practices.”
The alleged misuse of discretionary quota came to light when Cobra Post, a web portal, and IBN Network earlier this month revealed how several former and sitting judges, bureaucrats and politicians received houses from the discretionary quota of ministers.
Some local papers subsequently exposed the names of several sitting state ministers and their families who allegedly availed houses through similar means.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and his council of ministers tried to come out clean by posting their property details on the government website. However, the move added fuel to fire with opposition pointing errors in the list.
The opposition accused them of undervaluing the worth of their properties even as Patnaik and other ministers clarified there were no irregularities.
Dharitri, a local vernacular daily, Monday published a list of senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) officers who have allegedly availed houses on discretionary quota.
Citing official information, the paper said the present chief secretary, secretaries of different departments, present state police chief and police officers holding important positions in the government availed the quota.
The state government has not yet clarified on the latest revelation.
- Odisha minister in soup over availing houses on quota - Nov 09, 2011
- Odisha abolishes discretionary housing quota - Dec 07, 2011
- Fasting Anna supporter hospitalised in Orissa - Aug 26, 2011
- Anna's supporters fasting for 10 days in Orissa - Aug 25, 2011
- Karunanidhi trashes Swamy's allegations in land allotment - Feb 08, 2011
- Karunanidhi hits back at Swamy, says no irregularities in land scam - Feb 08, 2011
- Swamy seeks Karunanidhi's prosecution for land allotment (Lead) - Feb 07, 2011
- Rohini residents demand better facilities - Nov 27, 2011
- Fresh allegations against Bhushans, Sonia distances from smear campaign(Intro Roundup) - Apr 20, 2011
- IAC's 'Expose corruption yatra' in UP from June 5 - May 17, 2012
- Orissa erupts in joy, celebrate Anna's victory - Aug 28, 2011
- Swamy to seek governor's sanction to prosecute Karunanidhi - Feb 07, 2011
- Meetings to raise public awareness on Lokpal Bill in Delhi - May 22, 2011
- Yeddyurappa declares assets worth several crores - Feb 06, 2011
- Orissa citizens rally behind Hazare - Apr 06, 2011
Tags: bhubaneswar, chief minister, chief secretary, corrupt practices, council of ministers, discretionary power, discretionary quota, group india, indian administrative service, indian police service, land and houses, local papers, national media outlets, naveen patnaik, posh areas, property details, quota allotments, quota system, state ministers, vernacular