Senior Biju Janata Dal (BJD) Vice-President and former Minister Debi Prasad Mishra has accused the BJP-led Central Government of betraying rural housing beneficiaries in Odisha, alleging that the “double-engine” government has turned welfare schemes into political weapons to mask its own failures.
In a sharp rebuttal to Union Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s recent remarks in Bolangir, Mishra dismissed the BJP’s claims regarding past housing allotments as baseless and politically motivated ahead of the Panchayat elections. Clarifying the funding structure, Mishra noted that the over 28 lakh houses built during former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s tenure involved an equal 50:50 financial contribution from the State and Centre—a feat made possible by Odisha’s strong economic growth under the BJD.
Highlighting severe central neglect, Mishra pointed out that out of 28,28,000 identified eligible beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) in Odisha, the Centre has allotted only 5,00,000 houses. Contrastingly, during the BJD regime in 2022–23 alone, 9,39,000 houses were sanctioned.
Mishra further alleged blatant discrimination when comparing Odisha with Andhra Pradesh, another state with a BJP-allied government. While Andhra Pradesh received 3,00,000 houses against 3,21,000 eligible beneficiaries, Odisha received a disproportionately low share despite having nearly nine times the demand. Citing a July 21 Parliamentary reply, he noted that Odisha was earmarked a meagre ₹631 crore, compared to ₹10,101 crore for Maharashtra, ₹7,269 crore for Madhya Pradesh, ₹4,761 crore for Assam, and ₹4,653 crore for Karnataka.
Additionally, the BJD leader accused the state BJP government of merely rebranding the Biju Pucca Ghar Yojana as the Antyodaya Gruha Yojana while bypassing its 12 prescribed eligibility criteria to favour ineligible beneficiaries for political appeasement.
Mishra demanded that the Centre immediately sanction houses and requisite funds for all eligible beneficiaries in Odisha and publish the Antyodaya beneficiary list to ensure transparency.
