Balangir: High drama was witnessed at a district council meeting in Odisha’s Balangir on Thursday as senior Congress MLA Santosh Singh Saluja lashed out at Collector Chanchal Rana accusing him of slashing funds meant for various schemes in his constituency.
According to sources, the incident took place at the conference hall of the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) where a visibly angry Saluja was seen asking the Collector as to why funds for various schemes were being cut for Kantabanji.
The Collector was seen trying to pacify the Congress lawmaker as he entered into an argument.
In a video, the legislator was seen alleging that an allocation of Rs 120 crore is made under the Biju KBK Yojana, but the funds were diverted to other areas in violation of guidelines. Saluja said he was accountable to the people as he is an elected representative.
The Congress leader alleged that the district administration has cut the funds for 2021-22 flouting government rules.
The Collector and other senior officials of the district were not immediately available for comment.
