One fine morning, Upendra Mohanty appeared at the gates of the Naveen Niwas when the guard told him to step aside unnoticeably as the mighty Biju Patnaik would drive past in minutes. The CM’s car came roaring by and screeched to a grinding halt. Rattled, Upendrababu froze as there was no way he could hide his frail structure in his overused Khadi clothes, bad times showing glaringly.
“Is it Upendra there, my friendIJ” Bijubabu howled excitedly, “Come right in.” The door had already flung open. Panic receding, Upendra drew closer unable to believe he was not rebuked. Both of them drove away. He told Bijubabu that the plot of land, given to him in the early Sixties, may be resumed by the Government because he has not been able to save enough money even to put up a hut there, let alone a compound wall. Bijubabu instructed the concerned authorities never to bother Upendrababu again. Upendra Mohanty was a former MlA, who did not compromise with ethics once.
Janaki Ballabh Patnaik became Chief Minister for the third time in 1995. He ruthlessly snatched Upendrababu’s Ashok Nagar land facing Janpath to give it away to some hotelier by one stroke of pen. No number of weeping appeals from Upendrababu could melt his stone heart. The father had told the dependent children living in the nondescript village that bad times shall go the moment the high-value plot attracted some businessman willing to share profits. Janakibabu, as if doing charity, told him to take another plot of land in a suburban location in lieu of the prize property. Upendrababu said, “That’s my property. I am not a beggar” and walked away to die a pauper. A hotel now stands majestically on that piece of land.
The ‘discretionary quota’ row is still rocking the State. There is an irrefutable report that even High Court judges used their official letterheads to write private appeal notes to the members of the executive including the Minister, the BDA-CDA authorities and Housing Board chairpersons for favour out of turn. All successive Urban Development Ministers since 1980, be it the Congress or the BJD-BJP alliance or the monopoly BJD masters, have grossly abused their authority by violating law.
The Housing Board Act of 1968 and the Orissa Development Authorities Act of 1982 have left no scope for any ‘discretionary quota’ for any authority for any member of the executive or even the highest bureaucracy. The limited power of the executive has been conclusively settled by a number of High Court and Supreme Court judgments. Very interestingly, in 2002 the Orissa High Court ruled that ‘reservation of plots/houses even for Green Card holders, Schedule Castes/Tribes and staff of any Development Authority is illegal. Reservation can be organised only for Defence personnel, retired State servants with unblemished records, exceptional achievers and those with proven records of supreme sacrifice for the nation in strict accordance with the apex court’s judgments as given in the Purusottam Rao and the Centre for Public Interest litigation cases of 1995. Further, the Supreme Court has made it amply clear that when a State property is being dealt with by a Minister, it is of paramount importance that such public property is dealt with for ‘public purpose and public interest ‘only. The disposal of a public property undoubtedly takes the character of a ‘trust’ and, therefore, in the matter of such a disposal, there should not be any suspicion of lack of principle whatsoever.
The apex court has further ruled in the Centre for Public Interest litigation versus Union of India, SSC.382, the following strict guidelines: Dependent of one who has made supreme sacrifice for the nation but is still languishing in poverty; victims of terrorist attack and natural calamities; physically-handicapped; veteran soldiers; exemplary police personnel; State personnel permanently disabled while performing duty; widows; parents, children and next of kin of those who have lost life in abnormal situations; superbly eminent sportspersons, artists and litterateurs living in extreme hardship. In Odisha, not one such case of discretionary grant has been found even after having record rooms ransacked. There could be a very few cases, but so miniscule in size and number that it is impossible to put it up as rule.
Most shockingly, judges, senior civil servants, greedy politicians and undeserving journalists have furnished false information in affidavits to avail State property for songs, some of them multiply so. Former Chief Justice of India VN Khare says ruefully that the judges cannot hobnob or remain in direct contact with the members of the executive as that is bound to create ‘conflict of interest’ situations. All judges have been oriented to this strict principle routinely.
The Supreme Court has circulated the ‘code of ethics’ containing this extra-emphatic clause across all the High Courts. There was a PIl filed by lawyer Prashant Bhushan with the Supreme Court for fear of the High Court colleagues not passing appropriate order. But a Supreme Court Bench said the same High Court should admit the case and pass orders first, as all judges cannot be corruptible. Besides, if they are well-read and updated with rulings and orders, they would pass the appropriate order for sure.
The Kalpataru Das land grab is still rocking Odisha. He said at first that his wife and children are separate families. After enormous criticism and pressure, he ‘remarried the wife’ but chose to keep the Balbantray son ostracised.
The MlA-son too is a classic case of shamelessness. The family has 41 properties including 33 plots of land and eight houses. He runs an institution on village forestland after getting the land illegally recorded in his name. But Naveen Patnaik taking so long for action irks the masses no end. The father-child duo being lawmakers at the same time is not an acceptable situation, which the ‘clean’ Chief Minister should avoid methodically. Maybe, the Chief Minister is planning ouster of the Das-Balbantray duo in a dramatic manner.
The Dasburma guy is relieved for the heat has shifted to the 41-property duo. But he should also remain prepared for the grand fall. He allotted himself a property as Housing Board chief, apart from doling away State property to his friends rampantly. Strange, he is able to face people and talk!
Story does not end here. Many divinely-inclined elderly citizens, who spent time with late MlA Upendra Mohanty, say his ‘ghost’ is perhaps at peace now that Janaki Patnaik is out of the power forever. ‘The spirit’ hanging out for long may be preparing to depart for a higher abode closer to God.
(The writer is a core member of Transparency International, Odisha)