ROURKELA: The Sundargarh District Mineral Foundation (DMF) has found itself embroiled in a fresh controversy, with allegations of irregularities and lack of transparency in its appointments coming to the fore.
Birmitrapur MLA and an ex-officio trustee member of the DMF’s trust board Shankar Oram accused DMF authorities of hiding information regarding the substantial pay packages offered to contractual employees.
“The recruitment of these contractual employees, including expert consultants, was done without consulting or obtaining approval from trustee members,” he alleged.
Oram revealed that during a board meeting on Thursday convened by Sundargarh collector and DMF chairperson and managing trustee Parag Harshad Gavli, when he and Rajgangpur MLA and trustee member, CS Rajen Ekka, inquired about the pay packages and appointment details for contractual employees, the collector evaded the questions, stating that the recruitment was carried out by an agency following norms.
Oram said the previous team of approximately 15 contractual employees had been replaced by a new team of about seven including expert consultants, with a combined monthly pay package of around Rs 50 lakh, which if correct, is excessive.“It has become a recurring practice for DMF authorities to make decisions without providing prior information to four MLAs representing mining-affected constituencies and the Member of Parliament for Sundargarh Lok Sabha,” Oram asserted.
However, Sundargarh MLA and trustee member, Kusum Tete said both the previous and current collectors had recruited contractual employees through third parties, and she was unaware of whether approval from trustee members of the DMF board was required for such appointments. She explained that, in any case, they were not provided with information about the financial aspects of these appointments.
Meanwhile, Sundargarh Lok Sabha member and former Union Minister, Jual Oram, stated that the DMF recently implemented a significant change by directly allocating funds to line departments for project implementation. He expressed concerns about past irregularities and has officially requested the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) to conduct a special audit of the Sundargarh DMF.
The DMF board of trustees
19 ex-officio members, including one MP, four MLAs, one zilla parishad Member, and 13 government officers Board includes three members elected from the Panchayati raj institutions in Koida and Hemgir blocks Specific roles, responsibilities and powers of the ex-officio trustee members are not readily available.