Around 55,000 houses lost because of flood in Orissa. Telegraph picture

Bhubaneswar, Sept. 19: The Orissa Pradesh Congress Committee today questioned chief minister Naveen Patnaik’s demand of one lakh housing units from the Centre under the Indira Awas Yojana for flood-affected people.

The Congress today said that according to the Orissa government’s report, which came out on September 17, the state had lost 55,044 houses in the flood that wrecked devastation in 19 districts. “Based on the facts, the Orissa government should have placed its demand. If the Centre releases 55,000 Indira Awas houses, the state government will start accusing the Centre for neglecting the cause of Orissa,” said Congress spokesperson Arya Gyandra.

However, revenue minister Surjya Naryan Patro said: “Final assessment of the damage is yet to be done. Every day, the number of damaged houses is increasing. The district collectors have been asked to send the damage assessment report by September 25. The Congress, instead of jumping to the conclusions, should wait till the final report is prepared.”

In another development, the Save Orissa Forum, an organisation spearheading anti-corruption movement, today urged governor M.C. Bhandare to order for a judicial probe into the allegations of the Orissa government’s attempts to draw political capital out of the human misery by distributing relief bags emblazoned with the conch, the BJD symbol.

The Telegraph, in its Sunday edition, carried a report how the Orissa government was embarrassed following allegations of official relief being distributed in bags emblazoned with the BJD logo in Kendrapara district.

It had also carried reports about the lack of co-ordination between Chhattisgarh and Orissa that had resulted in the Hirakud dam being forced to release water that had caused floods.

Convener of the forum Bhabani Shanakar Parija said: “In the absence of the governor, we submitted the memorandum in his office demanding criminal proceedings against the Kendrapara collectors and officials.”

Terming the recent flood as a man-made one, Parija said: “Though flood is a regular phenomena, the government has failed to take up permanent measures to deal with it. A judicial inquiry should be ordered to ascertain the cause of the disaster. A sitting judge should be asked to conduct the inquiry.”