JEYPORE: A civil court of Koraput on Tuesday ordered the attachment of moveable property of the district collector’s office for non-payment of long-standing dues of a medicine supplier. Hearing a case filed by a medicine supplier of Nandapur HK Mohanty, the civil court (senior division), Koraput ordered the district collector to pay around Rs 4.33 lakh to the petitioner. It also issued a warrant for attaching moveable property of the collectorate which included a car, 10 air conditioners, as many almirahs and 20 fans, if the administration fails to pay the amount by Wednesday.
The case dates back to 2010. Sources said Mohanty had supplied medicines to the Nandapur Child Development Project Officer (CDPO) under the Chief Minister Relief Fund (CMRF) scheme. However, the CDPO reportedly did not pay the cost of medicines despite several requests from the supplier.
In 2014, the supplier filed a case in the civil judge court against the Koraput collector for non-payment of his dues amounting to around Rs 2.63 lakh. The case went to trial and in December 2019, the court directed the collector to pay the outstanding dues to the medicine supplier with interest as per norms.
However, the district administration did not comply with the court order. Finding no other option, the supplier again approached the court in this connection. Sources said on Tuesday, court officials and the petitioner rushed to the collector’s office with the warrant. However, the court order could not be served due to the absence of a Koraput collector.
The warrant was later served on the ADM office which reportedly sought some more time to settle the issue as the collector was out of town. Government pleader Bishnu Patra said a petition was filed before the Koraput civil judge, senior division on Wednesday seeking three days time to settle the matter. “The matter will be listed for hearing on October 7,” he added.