On Monday, the Odisha Lokayukta found three employees of the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (RWSS), Jajpur Division, guilty of setting the price of a district drinking water project. Amiya Kumar Parija, a former executive engineer of RWSS, Sanjukta Sahu, a former assistant executive engineer (estimator), and Lalkrushna Bastia, a former accountant, were all found guilty of engaging in irregularities in a drinking water project within the Dharmasala block.
Ajit Singh, the head of the Lokayukta, Debabrata Swain, a former principal chief conservator of forests (PCCF), and Rajendra Sharma, a former director general of police (DGP), delivered the verdict on Monday.
The Lokayukta further noted that because the RWSS authorities did not select the lowest bidder, the state government suffered a loss of Rs 4 lakh.
According to reports, the project was carried out to address the drinking water shortage in the area at an estimated cost of Rs 77.57 lakh at Gengutia of Kamagada panchayat under Dharmasala block in the district. The district mineral fund provided the money for the project.
According to the concerned RWSS officials, the project was finished in April 2019. The problems faced by the Kamagada panchayat people were not, however, resolved. Locals later discovered that the project had not been finished as claimed by the relevant authorities.
The Gengutia Kamagada drinking water project was finished in 2019 at a cost of Rs 52.57 lakh, according to information provided by RWSS in response to a request for information made by social worker Sarbeswar Behura. Behura had brought up the situation with the Lokayukta as a result of this.