BHUBANESWAR: The Congress on Tuesday demanded a probe by an independent agency into the property of ministers acquired during the last 12 years even as Law and Rural Development Minister Bikram Keshari Arukh denied any wrongdoing. Arukh, however, admitted that he had availed two houses from the Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) under the discretionary quota. “I have not committed any illegality though two houses were allotted by the BDA under the discretionary quota in favour of me and my wife,” he told mediapersons. Arukh said as he has not taken possession of any of the two houses, he will consider returning one of them. He evaded the media on Monday after the allegation against him surfaced. Sources said he tried to clarify the situation after Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik directed him to do so. Under the guidelines of the BDA, one family cannot avail more than one house in the Bhubaneswar Master Plan area, Minister of State for Urban Development and Housing Badri Narayan Patra had said on Monday. Patra, who had allotted one house to Arukh at Pokhariput area in 2009, claimed that he was unaware that the Law Minister’s wife had availed of a house at Kalinga Vihar area earlier in 2007. Defending his action, Arukh clarified that he had nowhere in the affidavit mentioned that his family had no house or plot in the Bhubaneswar Master Plan area. “None from my family applied for the particular scheme of the BDA in 2009,” he clarified. Arukh’s affidavit, which was signed on March 21, 2009, however, annexed a document saying that one family could apply for one unit only. Denying that he had tried to suppress any information regarding his property, Arukh said he had kept the Chief Minister informed all along. Arukh said he had not sworn by any false affidavit. While reacting to the allegation against the Law Minister, the Chief Minister had on Monday said that he would look into the matter.
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