CUTTACK: Days after 57 villages were brought under the jurisdiction of the Cuttack Development Authority (CDA), the elected representatives of several gram panchayats submitted a memorandum to the Athagarh sub-collector demanding the cancellation of the notification.
The sarpanches and panchayat samiti members, supported by BJD and led by Zilla parishad member Balabhadra Bagh and Athagarh block vice chairman Subas Chandra Mallick met the sub-collector and handed over a memorandum threatening to stage mass agitation if the demand is not met.
In the memorandum, the panchayat members stated, they had met the state development commissioner at Kharavela Bhawan in Bhubaneswar in 2022 and submitted their grievance opposing the Housing and Urban Development (H&UD) department’s first notification proposing a merger of the villages with CDA while inviting objection if any.
“We don’t know as to why our grievance was not taken into consideration and the one-sided decision was taken for inclusion of the villages in CDA,” the memorandum added. The Athagarh unit of BJP too has opposed the inclusion of 57 villages in CDA jurisdiction. Terming the move of the state government as undemocratic, saffron party leader Brajendra Ray in a press meet alleged BJP had submitted a memorandum on April 30 to the principal secretary of the H&UD department opposing the proposal for inclusion of the villages in CDA jurisdiction.
“Without considering the public opinion or holding a public hearing, the state government has approved the proposal and issued a notification which is undemocratic,” said Ray. Similarly, Athagarh Surakshya Manch which had observed a dawn-to-dusk bandh in Athagarh protesting the proposal for bringing the 57 villages to the CDA fold has also submitted a memorandum to the sub-collector demanding cancellation of the notification. The Manch has also threatened to stage agitation if its demand is not fulfilled.