BHUBANESWAR: The State unit of BJP has criticised BJD for demanding more grants for urban local bodies (ULBs) when utilisation certificates (UCs) have not been submitted for funds received earlier and elections have not been held to many of these urban bodies.
BJP spokesperson Lekhashree Samantsinghar said meeting Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at New Delhi on Thursday to demand release of pending Rs 700 crore was a diversionary tactic to avoid responsibility. Stating that service level benchmarks like electricity, roads, water supply, sewage disposal have not been achieved, she asked how can Odisha government expect performance grant without performing.
Odisha government is claiming that the total grant to urban local bodies by the 14th Finance Commission was Rs 1,772 crore, out of which Rs 1,065 crore and it is yet to receive Rs 707 crore balanced grants. Sources, however, maintained that Odisha has not fulfilled the criteria mentioned by the 14th Finance Commission to be eligible for getting the performance grant.
The ULBs will have to submit audited accounts, show increase in revenue over the preceding years and must measure and publish the bench marks relating to basic urban services each year to make it eligible for performance grants.
Samantsinghar said Odisha Government has fulfilled none of these criteria and its demand for release of the balance fund is ‘ridiculous’. A team of BJD MPs on Thursday met Sitharaman on Thursday following which she assured the BJD MPs to look into the matter.