ROURKELA: The BJP on Monday accused the land allotment committee (LAC) of selling commercial land at the posh Civil Township area in the city to four businessmen at throwaway prices without auction.
Terming it an administration sponsored land scam, State BJP spokesperson Dhiren Senapati said the LAC, which has RDC (Northern Division) as its chairman, Sundargarh Collector as vice chairman and Rourkela ADM as secretary, has clandestinely processed the deal to sell 1.5-2 acre commercial land near Shastri Chowk at Civil Township at Rs 13-15 crore without auction.
He said that the proposed move would cost the State exchequer loss of Rs 75-100 crore. The LAC has set two benchmark prices for Civil Township. While the stretch from Tarini temple to Government Autonomous College is priced at Rs 15 crore per acre, the one till Hi-Tech Medical College is priced at `6 crore per acre.
Stating that the LAC in 2017 had decided not to allot commercial land to business houses or individuals, Senapati demanded a clarification from the State Government on the matter. He also insisted on scrapping the proposal and conducting a high-level probe against officials who had moved it.
The party likened the proposed land deal to the controversial sale of Puri's Bagala Dharmasala land at throwaway prices. Senapati alleged a few unscrupulous Government officials and ruling party leaders are involved in sale of valuable land across the State and such irregularities cannot take place without the knowledge of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
Rourkela Bar Association president and chairman of erstwhile Rourkela Municipality Ramesh Chandra Bal also alleged corruption by LAC and demanded a Vigilance probe into the matter.