President of BJP’s State unit Kanak Vardhan Singhdeo on Tuesday castigated the ruling BJD for its poor performance in managing the urban local bodies which are going to poll on September 19.
Returning from a Statewide campaign for the ensuing elections to Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), Singhdeo said the State Government does not have any comprehensive development plan in place for the urban bodies.
Even as Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik changed the Minister of Urban Development four times during the last four years, no development has taken place in the municipalities and NACs.
Most of the cities and towns are facing acute problems of water supply and sewerage due to non-completion of the infrastructure projects.
Citing the example of Kesinga NAC, Singhdeo said 24-hour water supply was started when he was urban development minister in the BJD-BJP Government.
However, the service was withdrawn after the BJD Government come to power in 2009.
Claiming that the BJP-run ULBs have performed well than the BJD managed ULBs, Singhdeo said Patnagarh Municipality was adjudged the best municipality in the State for two consecutive years in 2009-10 and 2010-11.
The municipalities and NACs where the BJD had formed councils are now being controlled by contractor mafia. The contractor raj will be the nemesis for the BJD, he said.
Forecasting defeat of BJD in the coming polls, Singhdeo said the party is depending heavily on money and muscle power to win the election.
While use of official machinery by the ruling party is rampant, inaction of the State Election Commission has proved that a free and fair election is not expected from the Commission.
Alleging that the BJD and the Congress have forged a secret pact in many ULBs, Singhdeo said the people have seen through their game and will give a fitting reply in this election.