Lokayukta serves notice on senior IAS officer

BHUBANESWAR: The Lokayukta of Odisha has served a notice on a senior IAS officer directing him to submit his response on a petition filed against him in connection with irregularities when he was head of Omfed five years ago.The anti-corruption panel has asked the 1995-batch bureaucrat to reply within six weeks. 

As per the petition, the officer had allegedly resorted to corrupt practices in procurement of poly-film pouches used for packaging of milk when he was managing director of Omfed.The poly-film pouches were procured without any tender process causing a loss of `6.35 crore to Omfed during the period from August 2015 to June 2016 and the agency, which supplied the material, was deliberately offered 43 per cent higher than the market price, the petition contended. 

Though the then Principal Secretary to the government had requested the Chief Secretary to conduct a probe into the issue and recover the loss caused during the procurement, no action was taken. The Lokayukta has also served the notice on the Chief Secretary seeking a reply.The next hearing on the matter has been fixed on January 27.

A couple of days back, the Lokayukta had ordered a probe by the Director of Inquiry against the same IAS officer for allegedly getting medical bills and allowances reimbursed by violating the rules of the organisation he had served six years ago.