The Opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Thursday launched a scathing attack on the BJP government over its decision to enhance the financial powers of block development officers (BDOs), terming it an attempt to weaken the state’s three-tier Panchayati Raj system.
The criticism came after the state cabinet, chaired by chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi, approved amendments to the Odisha Panchayat Samiti Accounting Procedure Rules, 2002. The move, BJD alleged, curtails the authority of elected representatives of panchayat samitis, most of which are under its control.
“This government is out to destroy grassroots democracy. Since most elected block chairpersons are from the BJD, it wants to transfer all powers to BDOs for political gain. This will drastically reduce the role of people’s representatives,” said senior BJD leader and former minister Arun Sahoo.
As per the cabinet’s decision, BDOs can now pass panchayat samiti bills up to ₹10 lakh without the countersignature of the samiti chairman, up from ₹2 lakh earlier. They will also be empowered to approve projects up to ₹20 lakh.
Explaining the rationale, a state government release said: “To cope with the increased flow of funds and rising volume of developmental works at the Panchayat Samiti level, limits of technical sanction and administrative approval powers have been enhanced.” The authority to approve plans and estimates has also been delegated to chief development officers-cum-executive officers of zila parishads to expedite project clearances.
For general developmental schemes (except MGNREGA), junior and assistant engineers can now accord technical sanction up to ₹5 lakh. Assistant executive engineers have been empowered from ₹5 lakh to ₹20 lakh, executive engineers from ₹20 lakh to ₹1 crore, superintending engineers from ₹1 crore to ₹4 crore, and projects above ₹4 crore will require approval from the chief engineer.
The government argued that these measures will speed up bill processing, ensure timely approvals and smoothen implementation of schemes. It added that samiti chairmen would retain supervisory roles.
Addressing a press conference with former minister Pratap Jena, Sahoo warned of “massive agitation” if the decision is not withdrawn. Jena added: “The BJD holds power in over 80 per cent of the 314 blocks. This move, driven by political narrow-mindedness, undermines elected institutions. If not rolled back, samiti chairpersons, members, sarpanchs and zila parishads will vociferously protest.”