Odisha govt had signed five MoU with Seashore Group: Minister

BHUBANESWAR: Odisha Tourism and Culture minister Ashok Panda today informed the Assembly that the state government had signed five memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Seashore Group of Companies.

The state government had signed MoUs with the Seashore group for development of five tourist sports like Atri, Ranipur-Jharial, Nrushinghnath, Harishankar and the Boating Club at Cuttack, Panda said while replying to a question in the assembly.

The MoUs entrusted the development and management of the state run Panthasalas (rest house) at these places to the Seashore group, the minister said.

The state government had also signed a MoU with the Seashore in the Cooperative sector for renovation and development of three defunct cold storages in Cuttack, Hindol and Dhenkanal on Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) mode.

"However, the government later canceled the MoU after the company failed to renovate these three cold storages," Panda said.

He also informed the House that the CBI had taken four files pertaining to the MoU from the state Tourism department.

The CBI is probing into the activities of the Seashore Group, which is a major player in the multi-crore chit fund scam in the state.