Bhubaneswar: Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president Naveen Patnaik has tasked party MLAs with the responsibility of closely monitoring the functioning of various government departments and raising concerns in the assembly if any irregularities by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government are identified.
“The following departments are allotted to the Hon’ble MLAs of BJD for close monitoring, Assembly interventions and other issues relating to the departments,” read a letter issued by the party on Wednesday.
Former Minister and Athgarh MLA Ranendra Pratap Swain has been assigned to oversee the Revenue and Disaster Management department. Senior leader and former speaker Pramila Mallik will monitor the Panchayati Raj & Drinking Water and Parliamentary Affairs departments. Ghasipura MLA Badri Narayan Patra will keep an eye on the Women and Child Development department.
Niranjan Pujari has been entrusted with monitoring the Home and Food Supplies & Consumer Affairs departments, while senior leader Pratap Keshari Deb will watch over the General Administration and Public Grievances department.
Additionally, Braja Kishore Pradhan, Prasanna Acharya, and Arun Kumar Sahoo have been assigned to supervise the functioning of the Health & Family Welfare, Finance & Public Enterprises, and Water Resources departments, respectively.
The BJD currently has 51 MLAs, including the Leader of the Opposition and former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, representing the party in the state assembly. This initiative aims to ensure transparency and accountability in the functioning of government departments, with BJD MLAs playing an active role in governance and oversight.