Pradhan accuse Odisha government of taking credit for Centre's scheme

Bhubaneswar : Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday accused the Odisha government of misleading the public by appropriating the work done under rural housing schemes launched by the Central government as exclusive state government-sponsored schemes.

Pradhan made the statement after the state government said that 17 lakh kuchha houses have been converted into pucca houses under Biju Pucca Ghar Yojana (BPGY), a state government sponsored scheme, in rural areas.

He said during Rath Yatra, the state government came up with misleading advertisements claiming that it has completed over 17 lakh pucca houses for the rural poor under in the past four years under BPGY.

However, the state government's website states that only 2.8 lakh houses have been built under schemes exclusively sponsored by the state government such as the BPGY and Nirrnan Shramik Pucca Ghar Yojana, said the Minister.

"Most regrettably, there are allegations of partisanship and irregularities in the allotment of houses under rural housing schemes," said Pradhan.

He said this is an old tactic of the ruling party in the state to start schemes akin to the central schemes and appropriate credit, much against the spirit of cooperative federalism.

He also suggested Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Narendra Singh Tomar to collectively undertake proactive measures to begin an appropriate awareness campaign in Odisha so that the people are not obfuscated from the initiatives of the Prime Minister.