UP Dy CM Maurya accuses Chhattisgarh govt of corruption in distributing Rs 70 crore relief for dam project

Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Keshav Prasad Maurya on Monday accused the Congress government in Chhattisgarh of corruption in distributing compensation in a dam project on the border between the two states.

Maurya said the UP government had given Rs 70 crore to the Bhupesh Baghel dispensation for distribution as compensation to affected areas in Chhattisgarh and to build public amenities in connection with a dam project.

''Of this amount, Rs 9 crore was compensation and Rs 61 crore was to build a school, hospital, road, drainage and other basic amenities. I have learnt that they (Chhattisgarh's Congress government) siphoned off half the amount. I will get the matter investigated and lodge a case in Lucknow if irregularities are found,'' he said.

Addressing a public rally as part of the BJP's 'Parivartan Yatra' in Rajpur town in Balrampur district in Chhattisgarh, where polls are likely to be held at the end of the year, Maurya said his party will not tolerate exploitation of the poor.

Maurya was referring to Amwar dam being built in BJP-ruled UP's Sonbhadra, which shares a border with Chhattisgarh's Balrampur district.

Some villages of Balrampur are falling under the submergence area of Anawar dam.

Maurya also slammed the Baghel government over alleged irregularities in the Godhan Nyay Yojna (cow dung procurement scheme) and alleged 'gaothan' committees under the scheme comprised Congress workers who were siphoning off funds.

If ''gundaraj'' (rule of goons) can end in Uttar Pradesh, why can't it happen in Chhattisgarh, he asked.

Maurya took part in the second parivartan yatra of BJP in Balrampur and Samri Assembly constituencies. BJP president JP Nadda had flagged off the second parivartan yatra from Jashpur district on September 15, while the first parivartan yatra started from Dantewada on September 12.

Both the yatras will culminate in Bilaspur on the same day after covering a distance of 2,989 km across 87 Assembly segments (out of the total 90 in Chhattisgarh). Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to attend the concluding function, BJP leaders had earlier said.

In the 2018 Assembly polls, Congress handed down a massive defeat to BJP which had been in power for 15 years under Raman Singh. The Congress won 68 seats against the Bharatiya Janata Party's 15.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)