The District Press Club, Nuapada conducted a meeting on Monday to discuss about different development matters of the district. The discussions covered various aspects like education, employment and irrigation.
“There is a good progress in MGNREGS and IAY schemes in the district, but corruption in various development works is still a matter of concern,” the club members viewed.
They expressed concern over the sluggish progress in the construction of the lower Indra Irrigation Project, resulting in its cost escalation.
The delay in the Crime Branch inquiry into the corruption and misappropriation of the lower Indra project fund was also discussed. The members demanded early action by the Crime Branch to book the culprits and recover the misappropriated funds.
The prospect of building better cooperation between the newly-elected MlAs of the district and the district administration was also discussed. “The role of the Press Club as a catalyst to bring better cooperation between the elected representatives, people and the district administration will result in effective planning and implementation of development projects,” the members observed.
The members also demanded a Crime Branch inquiry into the corruption in the spending of funds under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), especially in the construction of school buildings. There is allegation that lakhs of rupees has been misappropriated in the construction of 24 school buildings in different blocks of the district.
The meeting was presided over by Press Club president Ajit Panda. Among others, Tapan Ranjan Dash, Motilal Bag, Sudhir Pradhan, Parameswar Barik, Hemanta Behara, Kunal Behera, Udit Panda, Saroj Bag and Sanjay Tiwari were present.