Lokayukta seeks reply from MLA and 5 officials

BHUBANESWAR: Odisha Lokayukta has served notice on six persons, including a ruling party MLA and five Government employees in connection with the damage caused to an irrigation embankment in Jajpur district during August floods to cover up corruption and substandard work. Acting on the petition filed by RTI activist Sarbeswar Behura, the anti-corruption panel has issued notice to Chief Engineer of Works Department, Jajpur Collector, Executive Engineer and a junior engineer of Panikoili R&B division and Deputy Executive Engineer of Jaraka irrigation division along with the MLA asking them to submit their reply within six weeks.

The next hearing has been posted to December 3. In his petition, Behura alleged that the irrigation embankment road from NH-5 (Gokarneswar) to Budhalinga Majhipada Road was destroyed at Ramapur by explosion of dynamite on August 28 night leading to inundation of standing paddy crops in around 4000 hectare. “Though it was then given an impression that the embankment got destroyed due to heavy flow of floodwater, no strong current in flow of water was witnessed during physical verification.

The destruction of the embankment was man-made and there was a conspiracy to cover up the corruption and substandard work,” he contended. Following media reports, the local administration had admitted that the breach in the embankment was man-made and an inquiry was ordered. Later, Deputy Executive Engineer of Jaraka irrigation division had lodged an FIR with Dharmasala police station seeking legal action. Behura moved to Lokayukta as neither was any inquiry conducted nor any body brought to task.

The construction work of the embankment was initially estimated to be taken up at `21.99 crore in 2016. But it was delayed by two years due to alleged interference of local politicians and project cost revised to `24.47 crore. Earlier, accusing the local MLA of blowing off the river embankment with dynamite in flood-hit Jajpur district, the opposition BJP had also sought stringent action against him.