Cuttack: Barabati MLA Sofia Firdous on Friday alleged serious irregularities in the distribution of stalls at the Barabati food court, accusing the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) of lack of transparency and unfair practices.At a press meet, Firdous said the allotment process has sidelined genuine local vendors who have been operating in the area for years, while allegedly favoring select groups. She also raised concerns over the absence of proper public notification for applications and inadequate dissemination of information.“There was no proper publication in newspapers inviting applications for stall allotment. The entire process lacks transparency and appears biased. Local vendors have been ignored despite their long association with the area,” Firdous said.The MLA further alleged administrative lapses, pointing out that the Rs 8.5 crore project, completed in 2024 and inaugurated in Aug 2025, remains largely non-operational. She highlighted the absence of basic infrastructure such as a designated parking facility and termed the standard operating procedures (SOPs) “non-transparent and unfavourable” for vendors.She also alleged that Cuttack mayor Subhash Chandra Singh publicly tore up the SOP issued by the civic body, raising questions over governance and accountability.Responding to the allegations, mayor Subhash Singh dismissed the claims as baseless and defended the process adopted by the CMC. “All stall allotments have been carried out in a completely transparent manner. The CMC commissioner is personally monitoring the entire process. A team of officials has been engaged for proper monitoring. A list of vendors prepared by CMC earlier were allotted stalls in the lottery system,” Singh said.He added, “Sofia Firdous is a businesswoman, she does not have complete knowledge about the procedures involved in such civic projects. She said the second phase of allotment for 38 shops started in early April and CMC is aiming to make the food court operational by June.According to the CMC, 88 food shops will be finalized by May, with basic infrastructure already completed. While 45 shops have been allotted in the first phase through a lottery, the second phase for 38 shops is underway, with applications open from April 4 to April 24.
