ROURKELA: The Chief Minister-Special Assistance (CMSA) scheme has come under fire from opposition MLAs in Sundargarh, while backers of the ruling BJP-led government feel its district leaders are unable use the assistance properly to benefit the party.
Administrative sources said the CMSA or Mukhyamantri Swantantra Sahayat is a non-lapsable fund and meant for local area development. Unlike the MLALAD, the CMSA fund is not specifically given to the MLA of a constituency, and allotment is largely at the discretion of the incumbent chief minister. According to the planning & convergence department, the Sundargarh Zilla Parishad as the Grantee Institution has received Rs 11.91 crore from the CMSA for 2025-26 for creation of community assets.
Accordingly, against a total of 110 sanctioned projects, a total of Rs 9.18 crore has been placed to executing agencies in five of the total seven assembly constituencies in Sundargarh. This includes Rs 4.46 crore for the Talsara assembly constituency (AC) of BJP deputy speaker BS Bhoi against 50 projects, and Rs 2.12 crore for RN Pali constituency of BJP MLA DC Tanti towards 29 projects.
The other CMSA is Rs 1.55 crore against 17 projects for Rajgangpur assembly segment of Congress MLA CS Raazen Ekka, Rs 67.40 lakh against 10 projects for Sundargarh segment of BJD MLA Jogesh Singh, and Rs 36.90 lakh against four projects for Bonai segment of CPM MLA Laxman Munda. Incidentally, Ekka, Singh and Munda maintain none of their proposals were sanctioned.
Ekka claimed all his proposals worth Rs 90 lakh were rejected, while other proposals worth Rs 1.55 crore placed by the CM’s special secretary Mirdha Toppo were granted for the Rajgangpur Assembly constituency. Singh also complained his proposals were rejected, claiming proposals of BJP’s Sundargarh municipality chairperson Tanaya Mishra and others were sanctioned.
Singh also claimed proposals given by the Rourkela MLA of BJD, SP Nayak, and the Birmitrapur MLA of BJD, Rohit J Tirkey, were also turned down. Munda echoed Singh and Ekka. Replying to Singh’s assembly question on September 24, the chief minister said the CMSA grant-in-aid was not given constituency wise.
BJP insiders, meanwhile, feel more can be done with CMSA to strengthen the party’s prospects in assembly segments that have MLAs from opposition parties.
