By Express News Service
JAGATSINGHPUR: Vigilance on Monday went after 5 income officers, together with a former tehsildar of Kujang, for gross irregularities in State authorities’s Vasundhara scheme below which ineligible individuals have been sanctioned land whereas the eligible ones have been left within the lurch.
After raiding 9 places in Bhubaneswer, Cuttack, Bhadrak and Jagatsinghpur, the anti-corruption wing arrested former Kujang tehsildar Ramesh Chandra Panda, Tirtol income inspector (RI) Santosh Mallick, his counterpart in Erasama Jyoti Bhusan Barik and two retired RIs – Narendra Lenka (Paradeep Garh) and Subash Chandra Das (Kujang). Panda is now tehsildar of Tihidi in Bhadrak district. All 5 have been arrested on fees settling priceless authorities land below the Odisha Land Settlement Act in favour of ineligible beneficiaries below the Vasundhara scheme in Jagatsinghpur district.
The arrests have been made after the Vigilance Cell registered a case of felony misconduct, misappropriation, forgery and felony conspiracy below Section 13(2) r/w 13(1) (a) of Prevention of Corruption (Amendment Act) and sections 466/409/120-B of the IPC on August 22, after allegations of irregularities surfaced. Under Vasundhara, homeless households are given land as much as a most of 10 decimal in rural areas below the provisions of Odisha Government Land Settlement Rules.
However, there have been allegations that a whole bunch of poor in Jagatsinghpur district allegedly acquired work order for home development with out being offered land. Sources mentioned, many real beneficiaries haven’t but acquired land paperwork resulting from administrative apathy whereas ineligible ones, who apparently wielded affect within the district, have been favoured by the authorities.
Retired OAS and former sub collector of Jagatsinghpur Mahendra Mohanty, whose home was additionally raided, can be below the scanner and an inquiry has been initiated towards him below Orissa Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1992. During his tenure, Mohanty is alleged to have made land settlement illegally.
Illegal settlement of land in favor of ineligible (not landless) individuals and settlement of encroached land in favor of encroachers in violation of OGLS Act are fees towards Mohanty who’s accused of inflicting a lack of Rs 40.65 lakh to State exchequer by abusing his official place. Additional chief secretary of GA and PG division Sanjeev Chopra has directed Mohanty to submit an evidence inside 30 days failing which motion will probably be taken as deemed correct.