CUTTACK: Barabati-Cuttack MLA Sofia Firdous on Friday alleged large-scale corruption in allotment of shops at the Barabati Food Court and accused Cuttack mayor Subash Singh of having direct involvement in the irregularities.
Addressing mediapersons, Firdous said the allotment was manipulated to favour individuals close to the mayor, raising serious questions about transparency and fairness.
“The notice for allotment of shops in the food court was published by the CMC in a newspaper with less circulation with an intention to deprive the needy beneficiaries of reading it. The notice should be published in Odia language in widely circulated newspapers. This has been made with malafide intention,” she said.
She tore a copy of the standard operating procedure (SOP) prepared by the Cuttack Municipal Corporation for allotment of shops in the food court and claimed that it was designed to benefit a select group of businessmen.
Accusing the mayor of being deeply involved in corrupt practices, Sofia demanded that all shop allotments under the scheme be immediately cancelled and reviewed. “The mayor’s wrongdoing has been exposed,” she said.
Meanwhile, Singh refuted all allegations as baseless and politically motivated. “The allotment process was conducted in a completely transparent manner under the supervision of a committee headed by the CMC commissioner, which also included two former judges,” he said.
Singh said that all the 45 shops were allotted fairly and in accordance with established procedures.
“If there are genuine grievances, the matter should be taken to court instead of making public accusations,” he said.
The mayor accused Sofia of consistently creating hurdles in development works in the city and said that she lacks constructive contribution and is more focused on criticising the CMC. “The allegations seem to have been stemmed from dissatisfaction over not being able to secure allotments for her associates,” he alleged.