The opposition BJD, on Thursday, criticised the BJP-led Odisha government’s decision to allocate Rs 3,623 crore for the construction of new buildings of Lok Seva Bhawan and the legislative assembly, claiming the move comes while farmers are being denied a promised Rs 800 per quintal paddy assistance.
The regional party raised the issue two days after Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi laid the foundation stone for the massive project, which is slated to cover 71 acres at the current sites.
“There is no need to build new buildings at such a high cost at this point in time. The government’s move is aimed at diverting public attention from its series of failures,” BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty told a press conference.
BJD MLA Gautam Buddha Das, who was also present at the press conference, highlighted a lack of transparency, noting that while the BJP government has withheld the Rs 800 farmer bonus, it remains unclear if the Rs 3,623 crore project was even officially provisioned in the state budget.
“There was no proper information earlier about these building projects. Due to failures in various sectors and public anger, the state government has brought such gimmicky projects,” Das said, adding that the CM mentions delimitation and claims that the number of Assembly seats could increase to 200, but there is no clarity on this.
Addressing the Chief Minister’s claim that a larger assembly is needed for post-delimitation expansion, Das pointed out that delimitation cannot proceed until the national Census is finished. He argued that it is impossible to predict if assembly seats will increase or decrease until that process is complete, making the government’s rationale “unacceptable.”
“Hence, the government’s logic of an increase in the number of seats is not acceptable. The state government is only using this project as a weapon to divert attention from its failures,” he alleged.
After laying the foundation stone, Majhi had stated that the new Assembly building is required keeping in view the possible increase of MLA seats in the state after delimitation.
CM Majhi had previously defended the projects, stating that the new Assembly is a proactive measure for future legislative growth and that the 70-year-old Lok Seva Bhawan is no longer equipped to handle modern administrative demands.
However, Das countered by claiming that during the BJP’s 18-month tenure, Odisha has seen a decline in law and order and a sharp downturn in fiscal health.
“After disrupting the financial discipline of a prosperous Odisha in these 18 months, Odisha is on the verge of becoming a debt-ridden state. When the BJD government left power in 2024, the state’s debt burden was Rs 78,000 crore, whereas the BJP government has borrowed Rs 91,000 crore in just one-and-a-half years,” the lawmaker from Bhograi in Balasore district, said.
