
BERHAMPUR: Berhampur Municipal Corporation (BeMC) faces serious allegations of misappropriation after BJP leader Pitabas Panda revealed through RTI application that the corporation purchased mosquito larvicidal oil at Rs 2,548 per litre, 13 times above the market rates of Rs 190-Rs 200.
According to the RTI response, BeMC spent Rs 8,21,424 on mosquito oil between 2019-2024, purchasing Bayer company’s larvicidal oil from Annapurna Agriculture Agencies. The total quantity procured was merely 331 litre for 42 wards over five years, averaging just 50 litre annually.
The allegation emerges in the wake of similar misconduct at Jharsuguda Municipality where four staff members were arrested by Vigilance department for purchasing mosquito oil at `740 per litre, totalling ` 68 lakhs. The Jharsuguda case involved 9500 litres used in 2023-24 alone.
The situation is worsened by BeMC’s inadequate infrastructure. The corporation operates with just one tractor-mounted fogging machine, while 40 hand-held machines remain non-functional.
District Vector-Borne Disease Control Officer Sujit Kumar Karji confirmed that only 25 field staff serve 42 wards, severely hampering mosquito control efforts.
Panda questioned BeMC’s claims of regular spraying, given the minimal purchase quantity and inadequate infrastructure, threatening to gherao the office if authorities fail to act on this matter within a fortnight.
As per the amount spent for purchase of mosquito oil, he said, BeMC bought 331 litre between 2019 and 2024 what translates to 50 litre per year which was sprayed in 42 wards of the corporation. On one hand BeMC claims to have spraying the mosquito oil regularly, on the other hand, in the RTI reply it has stated to have purchase of only 300-plus litre in five years which is ridiculous.
Despite rising mosquito menace, a proposal to purchase six hand-held fogging machines and one TIFA machine has remained pending for a year, despite multiple council meetings.