JAJPUR: The Odisha Lokayukta on Monday found three officials of Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (RWSS), Jajpur Division guilty of tender fixing for a drinking water project in the district.Former executive engineer of RWSS Amiya Kumar Parija, assistant executive engineer (estimator) Sanjukta Sahu and former accountant Lalkrushna Bastia were found guilty of being involved in irregularities in a drinking water project under Dharmasala block.
The judgment was pronounced by Lokayukta chairperson Ajit Singh and its members- former principal chief conservator of forests (PCCF) Debabrata Swain and former DGP Rajendra Sharma on Monday.
The Lokayukta also observed that the state government incurred loss to the tune of Rs 4 lakh as the RWSS officials did not award the tender to the lowest bidder.
As per reports, the project was implemented in Gengutia of Kamagada panchayat under Dharmasala block in the district at an estimated cost of Rs 77.57 lakh to resolve the drinking water crisis in the area. The funds for the project were provided from the district mineral fund.
The RWSS authorities concerned had claimed that the project was completed in April 2019. But it did not end the woes of the residents of Kamagada panchayat. Later, locals found that the project had not been completed as claimed by the authorities concerned.
In an RTI query by social worker Sarbeswar Behura, the RWSS authorities shared that the Gengutia Kamagada drinking water project had been completed in 2019 at a cost of Rs 52.57 lakh. This had prompted Behura to take up the matter with the Lokayukta.