BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) on Tuesday demanded an audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) into alleged large-scale irregularities in the implementation of drinking water projects in the state.
OPCC president Sarat Pattanayak and chairman of the campaign committee Bijay Patnaik told mediapersons here that the state government has floated tenders for 205 drinking water projects worth over Rs 34,806.64 crore and small packages of a particular district were merged to make the tender amount bigger to favour contractors from outside the state.
The Congress leaders alleged small packages in Keonjhar district were merged to take the cost of a project up to Rs 194.5 crore as a result of which no contractor from Odisha could participate in the technical and financial bidding. Similarly, tender was floated for projects worth Rs 262.68 crore and Rs 786.67 crore in Angul and Sundargarh districts.