PC culture rampant in BJD govt: Congress

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Congress on Saturday came down on Biju Janata Dal government for the rampant Percentage Culture (PC) right from the panchayat level to the State secretariat.

Addressing mediapersons, Congress spokesperson Sudarsan Das said the PC culture varies from 20 per cent to 40 per cent. He alleged that in the garb of transparency, Naveen Patnaik has become the most corrupt government Odisha has ever seen. Das said the Chief Minister had committed to make the panchayat system free from percentage culture way back in 2017 and instructed the District Collectors to ensure that street action is taken against the erring officers. Accordingly, actions against 258 officers/employees were taken which was reported in the State. Assembly on June 18, 2017. But since then, the Naveen Patnaik government has been silent about PC which is now rampant starting from Panchayat to Odisha Secretariat.

Das alleged that in ‘Ama Odisha Nabin Odisha’ scheme alone, there have been PC transactions of around Rs 1,019 crore. The total fund allocation for Ama Odisha Nabin Odisha in 2022-2023 is Rs 3,397 crore and an average of 30 per cent PC means Rs 1,019 crore which has been siphoned off from the public exchequer. Similarly, in 5T Schools Transformation, he said Rs 1,268 crore was spent of which the total amount of PC will be to the tune of Rs 380 crore. The PC money is being used by the ruling BJD for their electoral gains, Das alleged. He dared the BJD to refute the allegations made by his party.