BHUBANESWAR : The BJD on Thursday demanded that ST and SC Development, Minorities and Backward Classes Welfare minister Nityanand Gond should be brought under the purview of CBI investigation in the Bridge and Roof Company (India) Limited bribery case.
Addressing a media conference at Nabarangpur, former minister Ramesh Majhi and former MP Pradip Majhi asked if the former principal secretary of the ST and SC Development, Minorities and Backward Classes Welfare Bishnupada Sethi has come under CBI scanner for awarding Rs 37 crore contract to the central PSU, why the minister of the department has not been issued a summon. Awarding contract of such a huge amount is beyond the power of any department secretary without sanction of the minister or the cabinet, they said.
Ramesh Majhi was the minister for ST and SC Development, Minorities and Backward Classes in the Naveen Patnaik government from May 7, 2017 to May 29, 2019.
The two BJD leaders stated that if a project of the ST and SC Development department is more than Rs 20 crore, award of contract for its execution has to be approved by the cabinet. The former principal secretary of the department has mentioned the award of the contract to the Bridge and Roof Company (India) Limited in a letter on November 19, 2024, they said.
They said that the Odisha government recently assigned projects worth Rs 37 crore under the ST and SC Development department for upgradation of ashram schools to high schools and high schools to higher secondary schools and others to Bridge and Roof Company (India) Limited. Projects worth Rs 369 crore were awarded to four companies including Bridge and Roof Company (India) Limited for the same work at different places.
They said that projects of such huge amount would not have been awarded by the principal secretary alone without the knowledge of the minister as well as the chief minister. Since the minister is the head of the department, he should resign till the CBI investigation is over, they demanded.
CBI team at Tribal Welfare dept office
Bhubaneswar: A CBI team on Thursday visited the ST & SC, Minorities & Backward Classes Development department in connection with the Bridge and Roof Company (India) Limited bribery case. The team held discussions with officials for over an hour.