The Congress on Monday took to the streets demanding resignation of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) Deputy Mayor K Shanti in connection with the alleged irregularities in the allotment of houses under the Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY).
Staging a demonstration in front of the BMC office, the protestors led by senior party leader Suresh Routray threatened to intensify the agitation.
Routray said, “The Deputy Mayor has taken 11 houses in the names of her relatives. Besides, the BJD has distributed 150 plots of land to its leaders and supporters in Ward-56.” “The Rajiv Awas Yojana is a project that had been initiated by the Congress-led Government at the Centre. We had identified the beneficiaries and prepared the list. Our demand is distribution of the houses as per the old list. Besides, the CBI should be asked to inquire into the scam, and the State should dismiss the executives who are involved in the irregularities,” he added.
Bhubaneswar District Congress president Manoranjan Das demanded preparation of a fresh list for house allotment under the scheme.
Notably, five relatives of the BMC Deputy Mayor are in the list of beneficiaries under the Rajiv Awas Yojana, which is intended to provide low-cost houses to the urban poor.