PHULBANI/BERHAMPUR : The state Vigilance on Wednesday arrested two engineers of Kandhamal’s Kotagarh block for their alleged involvement in misappropriation of over Rs 42 lakh under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.
The accused are assistant executive engineer Prashant Kumar Patra and junior engineer Prafulla Kumar Behera. The scam came to light after numerous public complaints were filed alleging large-scale financial irregularities in Dharakote panchayat under Kotagarh. The complaints alleged that government funds had been siphoned off by preparing fake documents and bills for non-existent pond excavation and road construction works.
Kandhamal chief development officer (CDO) Shambhunath Nandi along with a technical team conducted multiple field inspections. After three rounds of inquiry between April and June, it was confirmed that several works existed only on paper, while payments had been released through fabricated material bills.
Following the inquiry report, the district administration suspended Dharakote panchayat executive officer Sutanya Mahakud and Kotagarh block assistant development officer (ADO) Kanshiram Digal last month.
Kandhamal collector Ved Bhushan also recommended departmental action Patra and Behera for their alleged involvement in the irregularities. The matter was later handed over to the Vigilance department for a detailed investigation. Vigilance DSP Hemanta Kumar Mohanty said the officials had allegedly conspired to embezzle more than Rs 42 lakh by generating fake bills for several development works during 2022-23 and 2025-26.