Click to play videoBhubaneswar: It is not just the judges and their children who benefited from the ministers discretionary quota in Orissa, but fellow ministers have also been beneficiaries of the same quota.
Former revenue minister Manmohan Samal insists he is anti-corruption, but his house, No 256 in the BDA's Baramuda Development Scheme, came to him from former Urban Development Minister Sameer Dey's discretionary quota.
The flat is registered in the name of Samal and his wife Pranati. However, Pranati already owns a 5560 sq ft plot in Bhubaneswar's Punama Gate Area.
Former Labour and Employment Minister Bimbadhar Kunwar was allotted an MIG plot, No 180 in Bhubaneswar's posh Prachi Enclave, again from Minister Sameer Dey's quota. Dey allotted another flat from his quota to Kunwar's wife in Udaygiri Vihar. While filing his tax returns, Kunwar does not mention his plot in Prachi Enclave.
Joel Oram, former Union Tribal Affairs Minister, also benefitted from Sameer Dey’s discretionary quota. He was alloted an HIG plot in Lumbini Vihar.
BJP leader NK Mohanty was also allotted a plot in the Kalinga Nagar Plotted Development Scheme, thanks to Dey's discretionary powers.
Nibedita Pradhan, former mayor of Cuttack was allotted a plot by KV Singh Deo during his tenure as the Urban Development Minister.
And it is not just the BJP. In 2000, when Bhupinder Singh of the Congress was Urban Development Minister, he used his discretionary power to allot a plot to Imtiaz Ahmed, son of then Health Minister Sayyed Mustafiz Ahmed.
In 1996, BJD leader Pravat Ranjan Biswal and his wife, Lakshmibilasni, were allotted two plots in CDA's Sector 7 from Minister's quota. Biswal was also allotted an HIG plot in BDA's Pokhariput Housing Scheme.
Several government servants too benefited from the discretionary quota:
- In 1998, Orissa DGP Manmohan Praharaj was allotted plot no 6 GH-927 C3
- In 1992 Chief Secretary Bijay Kumar Patnaik and Principal Secretary UN Behra, were allotted a 5400 sq ft plot and a 4000 sq ft plot respectively by the Orissa General Administration Dept, which comes directly under Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. Both IAS officers already own a flat each in Bhubaneswar.
Reacting to CNN-IBN's stories in November 2011, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had promised action against those misusing discretionary powers, but with so many ministers featuring in the list along with judges and government servants, it may be hard for the CM to translate all his promises into action.
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