The Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA), which has come under sharp criticism for allotting more than one house and plot under the discretionary quota (DQ) to a number of individuals in the capital city, has so far cancelled nine houses and is examining to expand its probe beyond the Comptroller and Auditor General’s (CAG) report.
“We had sent showcause notices in 12 cases based on the report the Accountant General. So far, we have cancelled nine cases and are examining three other cases. We are in the process of giving compliance to the Government on CAG’s observations,” BDA Vice-Chairman Dr Krishan Kumar told mediapersons here.
He said that after the compliances are met in the first phase, the BDA would examine other cases as well if it receives any complaints in future.
The CAG had given specific instances of 29 people managing to acquire more than one property from the BDA alone and nine other cases where false affidavits were submitted. This violated the standing rule that a person can get only one plot or a house from the Government.
The Government has stepped up the cancelation process after the furore over the issue, especially after the shocking revelations that BJD Rajya Sabha member and former Minister Kalpataru Das’ family had got multiple houses and plots under the discretionary quota.
There are also reports that several bureaucrats and top police officials have availed more than one house under the quota. It is not clear, however, whether and when the BDA or the Government would proceed against those who are guilty of such violations but have not been named in the CAG report.