Three councillors of the Kendrapada civic body giving priority on their personal gains instead of welfare the common mass while sanctioning loans or implementing Government schemes has raised eyebrows here.
If reliable sources are to be believed, as many as three councillors, who are from ruling BJD party, managed to get Rs 2 lakh each as loan under Swarna Jayanti Sahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY). Notably, the SJSRY was implemented by the Central Government aiming to provide gainful employment to the unemployed and underemployed urban poor by encouraging skill development and self-employment and also through wage employment for construction of socially and economically useful public asset.
According to official sources, the Kendrapada civic body provided loans to 33 BPl families under the SJSRY. But out of 33 beneficiaries, who got Government loans, three were the relatives of the councillors. To avail the loan, three councilors allegedly applied in the names of their family members and obtained loan worth `2 lakh each.
According to sources, BJD councilor Durga Charan Pati of Ward (2) allegedly availed Rs 2 lakh as loan under the SJSRY in the name of his brother Ramesh Pati. Similarly, Chandini Sethy, councilor of Ward (6) managed to get Rs 2 lakh as loan in the name of her spouse Rajendra Sethy, whereas Jayanti lenka, councilor of Ward (19) and vice chairperson of Kendrapada civic body got Rs 2 lakh a loan in the name of her brother-in-law Chitta Ranjan lenka.
The Congress councillors alleged that while a people representative’s work is ensure that the actual beneficiaries are benefited out of the various schemes implemented by the Government officials, in the Kendrapada municipality, the councillors are interested in their personal gains only.
This is the tip of an iceberg. Not just SJSRY, in many other schemes the real beneficiaries were being sidelined due to the nexus between the chairman, executive officer and the ward councilors, alleged intellectual masses. When contacted, Kendrapada civic body chairman Dhiren Kumar Sahu denied any comment.