Task force to review house allotment under discretionary quota

Criticised by different quarters including the CAG, Odisha government today set up a three-member task force to review allotment of houses and plots under discretionary quota.
The task force would verify the alleged misuse of discretionary quota by Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA), Cuttack Development Authority (CDA), Odisha State Housing Board (OSHB) and General Administration Department.
The two development authorities have allotted as many as 634 -- 185 by BDA and 449 by CDA -- houses and plots to different people mostly politicians, bureaucrats, businessmen and journalists between 2002 to 2010.
The task force would be headed by revenue and disaster management secretary Tara Datt while the urban and housing department secretary and special secretary to general administration department would be the other members, according to a notification.

The task force would submit its report to the government with recommendations.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik ordered setting up of the task force in view of large scale allegation of gross misuse of the discretionary quota by the people in power.

Senior BJD leader and Rajya Sabha MP Kalpataru Das's family was accused to taking at least three house/plot from the BDA and OSHB under discretionary quota.
Das's MLA son has surrendered two flats taken under discretionary quota.
The CAG report presented in the recently concluded Assembly also pointed out several deficiencies in implementation of the discretionary quota.
The state government on December 2011 had discontinued discretionary quota due to lack of uniformity in criteria used for identification of allottees by two development authorities and the OSHB.