ROURKELA: Sundargarh district administration on Monday started verification of records following allegations that numerous fake displaced persons of Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) have grabbed jobs long ago.
While the process will continue till October 6, about 490 employees of RSP have been issued notices to show displacement document for verification with the records of the administration.Acting on an instruction of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST), the district administration began the verification of ‘fraudulent’ job beneficiaries in RSP. Earlier, tribal displaced persons, including Lachhu Oram, had submitted petitions before the panel citing that about 650 persons have fraudulently grabbed jobs in RSP claiming themselves as tribal displaced persons of RSP.
A team of NCST, led by the Vice-Chairperson and senior officials of the Commission, had visited Rourkela on September 7 and asked the administration to detect fraudulent job holders in RSP.
Meanwhile, a section of the RSP employees, who are under scanner for allegedly getting jobs in RSP with fraudulent displacement document, on Monday staged a protest and demanded that the administration should stop the process. They argued they had submitted relevant documents while getting jobs and this verification process should be stopped.
However, Rourkela ADM Monisha Banerjee said the verification process has been taken up under instruction of the NCST and anybody having objection should move the NCST.On November 11, 2016, the panel had recommended the Union Steel Ministry to ensure a CBI or high-level probe into the entire incident.
The Commission’s report had observed that it seems either the RSP authorities are not honest in giving details of displaced persons who were given employment or there was a racket working in RSP in the name of giving employment to displaced persons.
The scathing remark came after the district administration had submitted that the RSP claimed to have provided employment to 6,000 displaced families. But on demand, a list of only 3,000 was given to the State Government by the RSP.