Bhubaneswar: It took everyone by surprise after Housing and Urban Development Minister Pratap Jena Tuesday admitted in the State Assembly that neither he nor the state government has any information about sale of Mo Cycles to scrap dealers at “a throwaway price”.
Replying to a question of member Suresh Routray (Congress) on the status of the Mo Cycle scheme in the State Assembly, Jena said the government had bought 2500 cycles from three companies at the rate of Rs 25,000 per cycle in 2018 of which 1000 are on the roads while the remaining 1000 are under repair.
Asked about the sale of the damaged cycles to scrap dealers, he said he has no such information.
It may be recalled that hundreds of cycles bought by Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited (BSCL) were found dumped at the scrapyard at a slum near AIIMS, Bhubaneswar.
Following media reports, BMC Commissioner Sanjay Singh had ordered a probe on July 21 this year.
The ‘Mo Cycle’ service which was under the Capital Region Urban Transport (CRUT) since 2018, was handed over to BMC and BSCL in October 2020. However, they failed to ensure regular maintenance oof the cycles through private firms.
It was reported that the Mo Cycles have been sold at Rs 40 per kg to the scrap dealers.
Claiming a massive scam in the Mo Cycle scheme, the BJP activists led by Babu Singh had staged a demonstration in the city on July 20.
