Raghubar Das, who took oath as Odisha governor on November 1 and started with a visit to chief minister Naveen Patnaik’s house, has started visiting various parts of the state to hear grievances of people and writing letters to Patnaik on matters of governance, causing disquiet in the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD), people familiar with the matter said.
Soon after taking oath as the 26th governor of Odisha, Das, a former chief minister of Jharkhand, visited Patnaik’s house, breaking protocol, which opposition Congress alleged was part of a “deal between the BJD and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)”. However, on the contrary, a senior BJD leader said the visit by the governor to the districts to hear out the grievances of people just ahead of the election next year was not a good sign for the ruling party and his writing letters to the chief minister “seemed to be more political.”
Soon after visiting Angul and Dhenkanal districts between December 5 and 7, Das wrote to the chief minister narrating rising pollution as well as the elephant menace.
“During my interaction with them (people), they have brought out various issues pertaining to them… which may kindly be considered by the state government for appropriate action. People brought to my notice the water pollution caused by mining operations of Mahanadi Coalfield Limited (MCL), its adverse impact on the health of the local residents. The groundwater level in the area has also been getting depleted. The people also said that no meeting of the Rehabilitation and Periphery Development Advisory Committee (RPDAC) has been held in the last two years. As a result, the grievances of the people in the area are not being redressed. My attention was also drawn to the huge loss caused to the farm sector due to the elephant menace. The Forest department has not been taking any steps to tackle the jumbo menace,” Das wrote in his letter to Patnaik.
{{/usCountry}}“During my interaction with them (people), they have brought out various issues pertaining to them… which may kindly be considered by the state government for appropriate action. People brought to my notice the water pollution caused by mining operations of Mahanadi Coalfield Limited (MCL), its adverse impact on the health of the local residents. The groundwater level in the area has also been getting depleted. The people also said that no meeting of the Rehabilitation and Periphery Development Advisory Committee (RPDAC) has been held in the last two years. As a result, the grievances of the people in the area are not being redressed. My attention was also drawn to the huge loss caused to the farm sector due to the elephant menace. The Forest department has not been taking any steps to tackle the jumbo menace,” Das wrote in his letter to Patnaik.
{{/usCountry}}Earlier this week, during his visit to Sambalpur district, he visited the Urban Health Centre (UHC) where he discussed the problems with the chief district medical officer (CDMO), health workers and ASHA workers. “The governor visited Dhanakauda UHC today. He interacted with doctors and paramedical staff. There was another interaction programme with the patients to take feedback from them about the healthcare at the centre,” said Sambalpur CDMO, Purnachandra Sahu.
In Sambalpur, while hearing the grievances of farmers in paddy procurement, Das said the free rice that was being given to poor was a great step by the (Prime Minister) Modi government. “The Modi govt is giving free rice to over 80 crore people so that no one sleeps hungry,” he said.
On Wednesday, while visiting Jharsuguda district, he expressed his anger over the husband of a woman sarpanch running the show on her behalf.
While visiting Bargarh district on Wednesday, he stopped his motorcade to meet farmers and heard their grievances while in Rayagada district he offered ₹25,000 financial assistance to a destitute woman, Lalita Bidika. In Malkangiri district, he gave ₹1 lakh to a tribal girl who wanted to become an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer.
“He is a Constitutional figure and there are certain rules which he needs to adhere to while holding the office of governor. His writing letter to CM and meeting people to hear out their grievances seem to be more political,” said a senior BJD leader, refusing to be named.
Another BJD leader said the governor by his actions may be proving himself to be an agent of the Modi government. “The governor can visit districts, but he can let the grievance redressal meetings a miss,” said another BJD leader.
Opposition BJP and Congress criticised the state’s BJD government and alleged that the governor’s findings in the two districts were just the tip of the iceberg. “The entire state is facing a similar situation,” alleged BJP leader Mohan Charan Majhi.
Former Odisha Congress president Jaydev Jena said the BJD government’s claim of transformation in different sectors seemed to be a hollow one. “The governor’s visits have revealed the truth behind the development in the state,” he said.
Incidentally, Das has recently sought the appointment of Santosh Satpathy, former IAS officer and first special secretary to Naveen Patnaik as his chief advisor on tribal issues as well as other important matters. He also forwarded the names of educationist Shukla Mahanty and Subrat Mohanty as advisors on matters of education and media.