The Nesco utility centre here is in the eye of a storm as scraps worth of lakhs of rupees are missing from the store yard.
The department heads while sitting tight over the alleged irregularities, it is alleged they are trying to sweep the issue under carpet after suspending three officials, including the officer in-charge and two others in the store charge and lodging compliant with Sahadevkhunta police.
If sources are to be believed, scarp materials worth over Rs 50 lakh were missing from the central yard located in Baleswar.
The Nesco is engaged in power distribution to districts such as Bhadrak, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Jajpur and Baleswar. Besides, it has corporate office as well as central store in Baleswar.
The materials are while distributed from the central place, similarly the scraps including transformers containing high grade copper wires, bobbins, aluminum materials are being collected from these districts and auctioned time to time after bidding in which the bidders from Kolkata, Chennai and other States participate.
Sources added that the goof up came to the fore when the materials were loaded for auction. The department while had 233 tons of scrap materials to be disposed, yet 210 tons were physically found. No account for the missing of 23 tons of scraps was shown.
One ton of scarp materials is estimated around Rs 85, 000. The personnel in the charge of the store couldn’t account for the missing\ materials.
The deficiencies came to light while incumbent Executive Officer Ananat Naryan Bisoi lodged an FIR with police after learning scrap materials worth of lakhs of rupees were missing from the utility store,
Although Bisoi lodged complaint with police, yet his FIR didn’t contain any specific names. Executive Engineer Chittaranajan Mistry and two store keepers, Rajendra Kumar Khilar and Satyabrata Das , however , were placed under suspensions by the authorities.
Sources further added that similar theft was reported in the year 2014-15 in which materials worth of over Rs 20 lakh were missing.
On the issue the executive officer, SDO, Junior engineer and the store keeper involved in the utility store transactions were suspended. It is alleged that a racket with the blessings of biggies is working in the irregularities of the scrap handling.
Since the store has CCTV cameras, a detailed high level inquiry would unearth the scams and embezzlement which are going on for years, intellectuals observed.