The recent fair organized by the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) has sparked controversy once again, with allegations of misconduct and corruption surfacing.

 

 

Even members of the ruling party, including BJD corporator and chairman of CMC's public works standing committee, Pradipta Khuntia, have raised concerns and demanded an investigation.

Expressing his dissatisfaction, Khuntia criticized the civic body for its excessive and unnecessary spending on the fair. He went on to accuse the authorities of engaging in irregularities by showing favoritism towards certain agencies. According to him, the work that could have been completed with a budget of Rs 1.5 crore was instead done at a whopping cost of Rs 3.5 crore. Such actions, he claimed, have caused significant financial losses to the corporation.

 

The Cuttack Mahanagar BJD unit, led by its general secretary Tapas Mohanty, submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday.

 

They requested that a special agency of the state government launch an investigation into the irregularities and corruption surrounding the festival. Members of the Opposition BJP and Congress also criticized the CMC authorities for their handling of the Baliyatra and accused them of engaging in corrupt practices. 

 

According to the BJP corporators, the civic body had recently erected two grand welcome arches in honor of the festival, which amounted to a whopping Rs 32 lakh this year. This was a significant increase from last year's expenditure of only Rs 16 lakh for two similar arches.

 

This drastic rise in cost has raised concerns about the corrupt practices and irregularities within the civic body. In fact, many believe that the same amount could have been used to construct two concrete arches instead.

The Congress corporator, Santosh Bhola, further accused the CMC of committing massive irregularities by falsely claiming to have spent 10 times the actual amount on the fair. According to him, the civic body has spent a staggering Rs 5 crore on the fair, including Rs 27.73 lakh on a green fireworks show and Rs 68 lakh on a 'Baliyatra Pragyapan Medha Sobhayatra' (a procession of Baliyatra tableau).

 

Bhola believes that if a thorough investigation is conducted, it will expose the rampant corruption and misutilisation of public funds.

In response, Mayor Subhas Singh clarified that a five-member committee has been formed to ensure transparency in the expenditure for the fair.

 

He also assured that all bills will be thoroughly checked and approved by the committee before any payments are made. This step has been taken to ensure that there is no room for any corrupt practices or misuse of public money.