After it was conclusively established that rich and affluent ruling BJD leaders, workers and sympathisers have managed to obtain ration cards in their favour to get subsidised food grains under the NFSA, the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) Commissioner has submitted a list of 45 such beneficiaries to the district Collector urging him to cancel their ration cards.
Shockingly, six of these beneficiaries are present BJD corporators and two are former corporators of the ruling party. “Irrespective of the fact whether they are people’s representative or not, these 45 beneficiaries are found to be coming under the ‘nine exclusion’ criteria,” informed CMC Commissioner Gyana Ranjan Das.
Das said he has written to the Collector with a separate list of present and former corporators for cancellation of their ration cards and take appropriate actions against them in accordance with law.
Meanwhile, the CMC has also asked the special squads to scrutinise the ration cards thoroughly and report the aberrations immediately.
This action of the CMC on Wednesday came in the wake of Tuesday’s resignation of CMC Mayor Anita Behera, who was forced to put in her papers after it was found that she had obtained a ration card in her name. Bowing to widespread protests and condemnation of Behera’s conduct, the discomfited ruling party sacrificed her at the altar.
Soon after the Mayor’s resignation, heads have started rolling in the civic body as the Government swung into action making it a prestige issue. After suspending two mid-rung employees on Tuesday, the Government on Wednesday suspended former CMC Additional Commissioner Biswanath Sahu, who is currently working as Project Director (PD) of Subarnapur DRDA. Sources said more skeletons are likely to tumble from the closet.
Meanwhile, reports reaching here said names of many elected representatives elsewhere in the State are found in the list of NFSA beneficiaries triggering a debate whether these representatives should get ration cards or not. Besides Brahmapur, reports said Vice-Chairman of Kendrapada Municipality Jayanti lenka and an executive member of a Bhadrak panchayat Chandrakanti Khuntia are among the NFSA beneficiaries.
