BHUBANESWAR : The government on Tuesday informed the Assembly that there was no proposal for creation of new notified area councils (NACs) in the state.
Responding to a query from BJD MLA Ganeswar Behera, Housing and Urban Development minister Krushna Chandra Mahapatra said the state government has not received any proposal from the collectors for creation of new NACs in their districts.
He said the BJD government had announced the formation of 57 new NACs in a hasty manner, keeping an eye on the 2024 elections. Only letters were written to the collectors on the decision to create new NACs. Not a single proposal had come from any of the district collectors, he said.
The minister said due procedure has to be followed as per the Odisha Municipal Act, 1950 for creation of new NACs. The state government will write to all the collectors to send proposal for creation of new NACs after due consultation with MLAs and elected representatives. Final decision will be taken after necessary deliberation.
Former chief minister Naveen Patnaik had announced creation of 35 new NACs and five municipalities in February. The BJD government had also announced to upgrade five NACs - Boudhgarh in Boudh, Karanjia in Mayurbhanj, Kantabanji in Balangir and Chatrapur and Aska in Ganjam district - to municipalities.
The decision on the new NACs and municipalities had come in for sharp criticism from the BJP then as the government had not followed due procedure like approval of the state cabinet and the Assembly.