Bhubaneswar, March 29 (IANS) After the ruling BJD expressed its dissatisfaction over central PSUs backing out from the Aahar scheme, the Odisha unit of BJP on Sunday hit out at the former, stating that the PSUs' corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds were not meant for election expenditure.
The much-hyped Aahar scheme, under which the state government plans to provide lunch at Rs.5 per person in five urban centres from April 1, has hit hurdles after three central public sector companies MCL, NALCO and Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) backed out of a commitment to provide funds.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Bijay Mohapatra said the Odisha government has launched the subsidised rice scheme keeping an eye on civic elections in the state and it tried to rope in the PSUs to provide funds from their CSR activities.
"Your (BJD) election expenditure cannot be met out of CSR fund. CSR is not for charity. It is for sustainable development and creating assets," Mohapatra told media persons.
The BJP leader, however, said the party is not opposing the scheme. He said the government should have incorporated the scheme in the budget instead of seeking assistance from public sector undertakings.
Mohapatra also said RSP and Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) have been asked to set up medical colleges with an investment of Rs.200 crore each while they are also providing funds worth Rs.800 crore for construction of toilets in schools in Odisha.
The BJD government had announced launch of the Aahar scheme in Sambalpur, Rourkela, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Berhampur cities.
In addition, the BJP leader blamed the state government for the power tariff hike announced by the Odisha Electricity Regulatory Commission (OERC).
"The state government has supported the OERC decision to hike the electricity tariff, which will affect the common people in the state. The same government has also exempted electricity duty of Rs.128 crore on Vedanta company," Mohapatra added.
Biju Janata Dal leader Pratap Keshari Dev rubbished the allegations made by the BJP. He said the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission ordered the power tariff hike though the state government had written to it to keep the rates unchanged.
The Ukraine war has now reached a dangerous point. The war equations are giving an alarming signa
This time, an amazing display of strength and bravery will be seen in the Republic Day Parade, in
IPL 2023. The excitement for the 16th season of the Indian Premier League is increasing with each
Coronation of Corona continues in India, 2 to 2.5 lakh cases occurred in just 5 days
The number of Covid-19 infected in India is increasing rapidly. The total number of infections to
Whether Gyanvapi is a temple or a mosque, this dispute is in the court. The survey is going on th
The dispute between the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the International Cricket Council (ICC)
Ballon d'Or: Lionel Messi wins the best player award in world football for the seventh time
Paris Saint-Germain and Argentine forward Lionel Messi have won the Ballon d'Or, the title of foo
ICC has released the batsmen's ranking of T20 International. In this ranking, India's star batsma
West Indies cricket is preparing to revolutionize the T10 league. Under the Caribbean Premier Lea
The sudden police action in the Umesh Pal murder case has surprised everyone. On the one hand, wh
