CUTTACK: The Cuttack city unit of Congress on Tuesday staged protest seeking high-level inquiry into the alleged financial irregularities and systemic corruption in the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC).
Submitting a formal complaint to the Vigilance director in this regard, president of Congress Cuttack city unit Giribala Behera accused mayor Subhash Singh and CMC city engineer Atanu Samanta of facilitating a series of financial and procedural irregularities.
“While work orders have been issued to agencies which were not the lowest bidders, massive funds earmarked for procurement of mosquito oil have also been misappropriated, despite heavy expenditure on paper,” the complaint stated.
It further pointed out that a blacklisted agency had been granted contract for transportation of waste from Satichaura dumping yard to Chakradharpur.
“The mayor is systematically abusing his executive powers by invoking section 34 of the Municipal Act to bypass the municipal council. By doing so, he is unilaterally approving projects worth crores of rupees without democratic oversight or committee approval, effectively looting public tax money through administrative loopholes,” stated the complaint.
It also accused the mayor of awarding contracts to relatives and forcing contractors to purchase materials from family-owned business establishments. “No file is being signed in his office without a pre-determined percentage commission (PC). Under Mukhyamantri Sahari Bikas Yojana, perfectly functional roads and culverts are being demolished only to be reconstructed with an aim to loot the tax of general public by diverting funds to unnecessary infrastructure,” it said.
Accusing the CMC city engineer of being involved in corruption, the Congress activists alleged that `5 crore had been sanctioned for gym equipment in public parks without approval of the municipal council. “Despite the lack of formal resolution, `3.5 crore has already been released while no equipment has been installed in any park,” they added.
They demanded that the Vigilance department assess the mayor’s and the city engineer’s assets further threatening to launch agitation if thorough probe is not initiated against them.
Contacted, mayor Subhash Singh termed the allegations as baseless, fabricated and vindictive. “This is nothing but an attempt to obstruct the ongoing developmental works in Cuttack,” he added. Efforts to elicit response from Samanta on the issue proved futile.