BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha assembly today witnessed noisy scenes over the murder on court premises at Sambalpur on Monday and lack of government's sincerity in the implementation of Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA) with the opposition Congress and BJP creating a ruckus over the issues.
The house had to be adjourned twice till 3 pm as proceedings could not be conducted due to the noisy scenes.
When the house had run 25 minutes into question hour, Congress members were on their feet to question the implementation of PESA in the tribal-dominated districts. Congress member Prafulla Majhi alleged that though PESA was enacted by the Centre to ensure self-governance through Gram Sabhas for people living in the scheduled areas, the state government flouted its provisions.
The Gram Sabhas are not given adequate importance in Sundergarh and a few other districts, he said.
The issue cropped up when panchayati raj minister Pradip Maharathi was replying to a question on implementation of Ama Gaon Ama Bikash scheme. The minister refuted the allegations and said PESA was being implemented fairly in all the tribal-dominated districts of the state. Describing the government as anti-tribal, Congress and BJP members rushed to the well of the house shouting slogans.
Unable to run the house, Speaker Pradip Kumar Amat adjourned the proceedings till 12 noon. When the House reassembled, the leader of the Opposition Narasingh Mishra raised the issue of killing on premises of a family court at Sambalpur on Monday and blamed the state government for inadequate security measures and demanded a statement from chief minister Naveen Patnaik over the issue.
“The Sambalpur incident is an instance that shows criminals are free to carry arms into court. The witnesses do not have any security. There is no provision for drinking water or a seating arrangement for the witnesses on the court premises," Mishra said
Mishra's colleagues in the assembly joined him in his protest, seeking a statement from the government on the security provisions in courts. As the din continued, Speaker Amat adjourned the House again till 3 pm.
During the afternoon session, parliamentary affairs minister Bikram Arukha made a statement on killing on court premises in Sambalpur as directed by the Speaker. Stating that a case has been filed in this regard at Sambalpur town police station and the matter is under consideration, the culprit has been arrested and forwarded to court. Police has been asked to male proper security arrangements in the court premises in view of the incident.
Making a statement in the house on behalf of the chief minister on incidents of rape of minor girls, Arukha said that special prosecutors are being appointed for the cases. Besides, an investigating officer has been appointed for each of the minor rape case, he said.
The minister said that to strengthen prosecution 192 assistant public prosecutors have been appointed. The conviction rate of rape cases has improved by 16.9 percent because of steps taken by the government, he said.