KENDRAPARA: A court in Kendrapara on Friday attached the immovable property of the Rural Development (RD) department’s division-II office at Shyamagudia here after officials failed to clear Rs 1.37 crore dues owed to a contractor for over two decades.
The order came from the civil judge, senior division (commercial) after the RD authorities kept ignoring the pending bill of the contractor for 23 years. When no communication was obtained from them, the court finally issued the auction notice.
Acting on the court’s order, a special team reached the RD department’s division-II office and initiated the attachment proceedings. Inventory of the movable assets was prepared in the presence of the petitioner’s lawyer.
The attachment follows a 23-year-long legal battle over non-payment of dues to contractor Ramesh Chandra Samantaray, a resident of Kujang Sandhapur village. During pendency of the case, the contractor died following which his wife and legal heirs were substituted.
Sources said Samantaray had constructed two cyclone shelters at Talchua and Daleisahi under Rajnagar block in 2003 at the cost Rs 1.07 crore. But the RD authorities failed to pay the amount to the contractor under various pretexts, forcing him to approach the court to get his dues. After hearing from both the parties, the court directed the RD department to pay the amount with interest to Samantaray.
The seized assets will be assessed and valued before being sold, wherever required, to recover the outstanding amount. Samantaray’s lawyer and family members were present during the proceedings.