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lThis is your first time as minister and you are representing a politically active place like Kendrapara. How challenging is it?
It’s a big responsibility. Kendrapara is a highly surcharged district, politically speaking. Majority of the people are in the service sector and are migratory by nature. So, confluence of ideas from various parts of India and abroad takes place there. People are, thus, conscious of their rights. You can’t fool them. Everything has to be in black and white; they don’t accept the greys.
lIt is said you landed a ministerial berth only because former energy minister Atanu Sabyasachi was dropped.
I don’t think I was given a prize or something because he was dropped. Whenever a non-Congress government comes to power in Odisha, representation from Kendrapara has to be there because it has been a non-Congress bastion since 1956. Before me, Atanu babu was leading the district. With the turn of political events, the chief minister dropped him and inducted me. It was his prerogative.
lApart from Atanu Sabyasachi, political stalwarts like Lok Sabha MP Baijayant Panda belong to Kendrapara. How do you plan to work in coordination with them?
I enjoy very good relations with everyone. In Kendrapara, there is no scope for interference in any other constituency. It is a politically conscious district, so it’s best left to itself. When one handles his own constituency, everything moves smoothly. Problems start only when you cross the lakshman rekha and start interfering.
lWhat would you say about the general perception that major things happen in Kendrapara only with the consent of Baijayant Panda?
I think it’s a very wrong conception. He is very down-to-earth and works in tandem with us.
lWhat would you say to Union minister for chemical and fertilisers, Srikant Jena, who has accused the state government of not giving 25 kg of rice to the BPL family though it gets 35 kg of rice for each family?
Mr Jena is a very senior politician. But this allegation smacks more of politics than of genuine concern. Before the 2009 general elections, Congress party came up with huge banners and publicised about the Centre’s contribution to Rs 2 per kg rice scheme. They accused BJD of misappropriating central funds and taking credit for Centre-sponsored schemes. People rejected the allegations and voted BJD back to power.
lYou have blamed the Planning Commission for creating confusion by presenting different reports on the number of BPL households.
A number of committees appointed by the Planning Commission have given different figures on the number of BPL households. It has led to confusion in allocating rice. The Planning Commission disputed state’s figure on BPL households. The Centre gives weightage to its reports and accordingly allocated rice. Now, we are getting less amount of rice but have to distribute it to a large number of people.
lHave you been successful in your pilot project to identify bogus BPL card holders?
Yes. In the last three years, we have identified over 2.56 lakh ghost cards.
lThen who took all the rice on behalf of these “ghosts”?
It is a misconception that someone pocketed it. We have never lifted 100 per cent rice allotted to the state. I have figures for last 10 years. You can blame us only when we lift 100 per cent.
lAre you getting adequate support from the Food Corporation of India (FCI) for lifting the surplus rice from Odisha?
No. Even after distribution, there is a surplus stock of over 6.10 lakh metric tonnes of rice. If it is not taken by the Centre or FCI, either for distribution in other states or diversion to public distribution system, I will be in a soup. The procurement season begins from mid November. I have to clear the godowns by then.
lCan you assure farmers that there would be no distress sale of paddy this year?
If the FCI doesn’t lift the surplus foodgrains, do I have a choice? The godowns are already filled to the brim. How do I put in the new stock? A cat and mouse game is going on between the FCI and Odisha. I am planning to pay a visit to Union food and civil supplies minister K.V. Thomas regarding the matter.
lThe state government had assured to provide LPG gas connections in 48 hours but people allege it is not being done even within 15 days. What do you plan to do?
It is a matter of great dilemma for all state governments. Central government PSUs like Indian Oil have their own supply chain and appoint their own agents. Nothing is in the government’s hand. We can only, through a team of enforcement officials, see if it is being done legally. We don’t have a say in other things. So, I am just a watchdog without teeth.
lComing to technical education, over 50 per cent of seats in engineering colleges are vacant for the third consecutive year. Private colleges want to admit students on their own but the state government does not agree. What can be done?
Technical education is partly controlled by the market. Now, we have more seats than students, hence this situation. We can’t leave it to the private players completely. There are certain anomalies but I am in the process of amending something during the winter session of the state Assembly.
lSome colleges are getting less than 10 students. What do you plan to do about this?
When the IT market was looking up, many categories of people entered the field of engineering education. There are genuine educationists who want technical education to flourish in Odisha. Some others want to do business by imparting education, which is also acceptable because it is helping our economy. There are a few people who set up engineering colleges just to get land; education is not their priority. After 10 years, they will shut down the college and sell the land to get real estate value. Such players will wither out automatically
