BJP national spokesperson Dr Sambit Patra on Tuesday said the State Government is making false claims in the Puri Bagala Dharmasala land case to divert people’s attention.
“On the demand of the State Government, the ITDC had started construction work for a Shree Jagannath Ashram for stay of tourists. While Rs 3.26 crore had been spent, Tourism Department Secretary Vishal Dev on July 1 wrote to the ITDC chief conveying that the ashram work and other three ongoing projects on the land were stopped due to the work delayed by six years. But Dev’s claim is totally baseless,” Patra told a Press conference in New Delhi.
Patra said the Government had earlier demanded increasing funds for the ashram from Rs 50 core to Rs 78 crore. Construction work had reached the plinth level. But the State Government stopped the project and proposed to shift it to a two-acre land at a distant place.
“The Government has an ulterior motive behind plotting the land and selling it to private persons,” he alleged.