The Odisha government on Thursday decided to cancel all allotment of houses, flats and plots in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack that were made under the discretionary quota (DQ) since January 1, 1995.
The state cabinet, in a meeting chaired by chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday, also recommended an inquiry into the allotments by Bhubaneswar Development Authority, Cuttack Development Authority, and Odisha State Housing Board, said chief secretary GC Pati.
The state cabinet accepted recommendations by the three-member Tara Dutta Committee, which probed into the allotments and was formed on August 2 this year, following a public outcry over widespread housing scams in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack , particularly after the CAG opened the lid on irregularities in the allotments made in the name of DQ by state urban ministers, urban secretaries,and political appointee as head of the government-housing bodies during the period.
The CAG report — first published in fe — said houses/flats/plots had been allotted to ministers, IAS and IPS officers, high court judges and senior journalists in prime localities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttak under government housing schemes during the period.
The committee had found there were 1,791 allotments made under DQ during the last 20 years. Of the total 302 multiple allotments, 54 were under DQ, the committee said, adding rgar there were 3,776 third-party transactions.
Dilip Bisoi