Once again it is established that the repeated claims of the BJD leaders, Raghunathpali MlA and Minister of State for Commerce and Transport Subrat Tarai and Rourkela MlA and former Minister Sarada Prasad Nayak that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has special attention for Rourkela have proved hallow.
Though the State Government has failed to ensure development of the steel city but due to the faction in opposition parties and cunningness of local BJD leaders, BJD has been winning polls in Rourkela.
But the negligence to Rourkela has crossed all limits when it declared to upgrade Sambalpur Municipality to a corporation sidelining the long standing demands of Rourkela. The long continuing apathy of the State Government has not gone down well here as a sharp resentment against it is palpable. Not only the political parties but the common people have been gearing up to protest it through rallies and demonstrations. Perhaps it is the only issue for which all the opposition political parties are united. For saving skin, the BJD leaders may be giving various baffling statements, but they seem to have little impact on the public.
Rourkela BJD president Ananad Mohanty said Rourkela is not meeting the minimum population target i.e. 3 lakh which is a constraint for declaring it as a corporation. But according to the data released by Government of India in Census 2011, Rourkela is an urban agglomeration coming under category of Class I UAs/towns which includes Rourkela Municipality area, Industrial Township (under control of RSP) and surrounding area consisting of a total population of 5.52 lakh which is higher than the statutory requirement of 3 lakh population figure required for granting corporation status.
If Industrial Township area is excluded from the said figure, the total population (3.42 lakh) is still more than the required figure for corporation. Though the population of present 33 wards of Rourkela Municipality is 2.73 lakh, but expanding its area to a little extent can cross the required number population for becoming a corporation.
If Government can take steps to declare Sambalpur as a corporation whose population is hardly 1.9 lakh adding two more NACs and 12 panchayats, then what is the problem in case of Rourkela. It is nothing but the BJD Government’s lack of will power for the development of Rourkela. Similarly, the statement of Minister Subrat Tarai is very surprising.
He said because corporation status to Rourkela is a delicate issue since the area under Sundargarh District is under the fifth schedule of the constitution of India. But Article- 244 (1) Part-B 5 (2) says the Governor may make regulations for the peace and good governance of any area in a State which is a scheduled area.
Then where is the problem nowIJ Secondly, how the then Collector Sundargarh NK Dhal in 2000 had given a proposal to the Government for declaring Rourkela as a corporation increasing its wards to 42 adding other neighbouring areas. Similarly, when Chief Minister Naveen Patanaik was campaigning in 2008 UlB elections, he had also assured according corporation status to Rourkela soon. If fifth schedule is a constraint then how could the present BJD led Rourkela Municipality made a resolution for corporation status to Rourkela and sent it to the GovernmentIJ Even in Comprehensive Development Planning (CDP) for Rourkela it had a proposal to enhance the Rourkela Municipality wards to 42 including Kalunga, Vedavyas, Jalda, Jagda, Jhirpani and other areas of south Rourkela. Minister Tarai himself has made commitment in June, 2012 to include Tilkanagar of Bondhamunda, Nabakrishna Nagar and many more areas in Rourkela Municipality. Interestingly, Nayak has preferred to keep a safe distance from this burning issue now though he is the MlA, Rourkela.
Two principal opposition political parties, Congress and BJP have started road blockade, demonstration and street corner meetings against the apathy. Even to expedite the movement, a citizen’s action committee taking representatives from different walks of life has been formed.
This committee will hold a big number of street corner meetings in Rourkela in first stage and if the Government does not respond, then the movement may lead to Rourkela bandh.
As per the statements of Congress leaders Nihar Ray, Pravat Mohapatra, Bindar Singh, Aurobinda Puhan, BJP leaders Dilip Ray, Dhiren Senapati, Raghu Bal, Aditya Mohapatra, Balgopal Mohapatra, CPM leader Bishnu Mohanty, CPI leader Pravat Mishra, SUCI leader Chhabi Mohanty and Rourkela Bar Association Secretary Sadananda Sahoo, the movement will continue till the demand is achieved.
So the political thinkers feel it would be better for BJD Government to take early step in declaring Rourkela as a corporation instead of taking refuse in a dilatory process.