Collector’s action against graft widely hailed
Rajya Sabha member Dilip Tirky has allotted Rs 150 lakh from his MPlAD fund in the year 2013-14 for 15 development projects in Nuapada district.
Half of the allotted amount for seven such projects has already been spent, but the rest half has not been released. It is learnt that district Collector Jaykumar V has raised objection to the procedures of execution of the projects.
The Government execution guidelines (OPWD code and Panchayat Samiti Accounting Procedures) clearly mention that there should be tender for projects costing more than Rs 5 lakh and less than that should be executed by the Vlls (village labour leaders). But here, the works have been executed departmentally, which really means that they have been executed by a contractor, who has mobilised the funds from the MP. The quality of works is also stated to be low.
There are many such works in the district, where the Government procedures have not been followed. The present district Collector wants a departure from the illegal practices of the past. He has instructed the executing agencies to strictly follow the norm.
The public is, however, curious on the question as to why the Rajya Sabha MP provided about one-third of his fund to Nuapada district aloneIJ What is the motivating force and who is the person behind the scene to induce Tirky for the allotmentIJ
“A contractor-cum-business man of the district, who has been criminally indicted by the district administration in the past for misappropriation of Government fund, is in charge of execution of the projects allotted by Tirky,” alleged BJP activist from Khariar Sanjay Tiwari. It is interesting to note that when Tirky has allotted one-third of his fund for Nuapada, Rajya Sabha MP AV Swamy, who belongs to Nuapada district, has allotted a lion’s share of his fund to other districts in the same year. “The Rajya Sabha MPs have the liberty to allot funds to any district in the State. It is their discretion, but the discretion again is guided by self interest or personal gain,” said political activist Fakira Jagat. He further said, “It is an open secret that there are underhand dealings in allotment of funds, sometimes in the form of gifts.”
Tiwari put it interestingly, “You give a costly car as gift and get more than a crore of rupees.” The talks sound as if it is not public money rather the MPs are the owners of it. Indiscretions and violations are thus the accepted norms. One can take any scheme at random. The approved list of projects of the Western Odisha Development Council (WODC) for Nuapada district for the year 2014-15 contains some projects which have been approved to benefit some private parties. Projects like additional class rooms for privately owned colleges, which have not even received recognition from the Government have been approved. There are three projects for construction of additional class rooms and common room for three such privately owned colleges of Sinapali block.
District Collector Jaykumar has not allowed the corrupt people to unduly influence decision making. Officials of the district have been given clear instructions to adhere to the Government guidelines in execution of Government works.
Wherever there is a violation, the concerned officer has been warned of stern action. Some have been suspended for their involvement in bungling of Government funds. FIRs have been filed in some other cases of violation. This has created a sense of fear within the corrupt officials. The quality of works as well as people’s involvement in development projects has remarkably increased. But the honesty and sincerity of the Collector has made him the eyesore of some corrupt politicians of the district. The situation for him has become more antagonistic, after his stern action against encroachers of Government lands.
However, some elected representatives of the district do not want Jaykumar to continue. However, Khariar MlA Duryodhan Majhi said, “I have requested the Chief Minister to not to transfer Jaykumar from Nuapada. I appreciate his work and attitude,” said Majhi. As Majhi is now representing BJP, his request may work negatively feel a section of people here. “The performance of Jaykumar is very good but the decision makers at Bhubaneswar do not see performance as the indicator. Their choice is driven by their convenience,” said a senior Government official requesting anonymity. It remains to be seen whether the State leadership succumbs to the pressure of the vested interests or keeps its promise of providing a minimum of three years tenure to the district Collector.