ROURKELA: The latest CAG report has flagged the alleged misuse of Rs 59.13 crore from the District Mineral Foundation (DMF) fund in Sundargarh district towards the supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) kits and other items to industrial and mining workers between November 2021 and December 2023.
RTI activist and Congress leader Rashmi Ranjan Padhi said the CAG report vindicates his allegation of misuse and misappropriation of DMF funds. The report said an audit of available invoices and payment records showed that 44,120 workers were provided PPE kits between November 2021 and December 2023, with Rs 59.13 crore spent from the DMF, Sundargarh.
According to the report, the decision was taken by the collector and DMF chairman and managing trustee. A Request for Proposal (RFP) was invited in June 2021, following which the tender committee finalised the price at Rs 13,400 per kit in July 2021 and authorised three vendors.
The report further pointed out that the collector, in September 2021, finalised a proposal allowing one of the vendors to supply PPE kits to 14,050 workers at a total cost of Rs 18.83 crore. However, the project was formally approved only on August 31, 2023, at the 10th Board of Trust meeting, the CAG report pointed out.
Referring to Section 7A(1) of the Factories Act, 1948, which mandates private and public sector organisations to take care of health, safety and welfare of workers in mining and industrial sectors, the report said the then Sundargarh collector, instead of enforcing the provisions of law, chose to take responsibility to supply PPE kits and other essential items to the workers from DMF fund.
While noting that the government, in January, stated that the expenditure was incurred in the interest of workers in mining-affected areas, the CAG concluded that the spending was in violation of the Odisha District Mineral Foundation Rules, 2015.
Meanwhile, citing RTI replies obtained in August 2022, Padhi said the original tender was floated on June 9, 2021, for the supply of safety kits to 10,000 mining workers. Geelon Industries Pvt Ltd, which quoted `13,500 per kit, emerged as the L1 bidder, followed by Veer Enterprises as L2 and Shree Hari General Supplier as L3.
He alleged that the number of beneficiaries was subsequently increased to 14,050 mining workers and then to 24,139 industrial and mining workers without separate tenders being floated.
Padhi said that by mid-2022, Geelon Industries had been allowed to supply kits to 14,042 workers at a cost of Rs 18.82 crore, while Veer Enterprises supplied kits to 7,062 workers for Rs 9.46 crore and Shree Hari supplied kits to 3,025 workers for Rs 4.05 crore. The total expenditure stood at Rs 32.33 crore, he said.
Padhi claimed that while the approved cost of each kit was Rs 13,500, its actual market price was around Rs 8,000. He alleged that the differential amount, estimated at around Rs 12 crore, was siphoned off. He further alleged that the then collector was responsible for the alleged irregularities and said the project was launched in April 2022 in haste.
He said that after the transfer of the then collector, his successor obtained formal approval for the expenditure in August 2023. Padhi demanded recovery of the funds from the two former collectors of the district.