In the name of developing and beautifying the deforested areas in the mining sector, the Compensatory Afforestation Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) funds have been allegedly bungled in Barbil for the year 2016- 17.
Sources revealed that the CAMPA is the nodal agency set up by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests in the year 2006 to undertake development projects like afforestation and digging bore well etc.
But instead of utilising the funds transparently, the funds were siphoned off by venal officials in connivance with political leaders which came to light some days back in Kerakhendra village under Barbil forest range.
It is alleged that bill for a bore well project in the village was paid to the contractor without the bore wells having been dug. Only a board is displaying there that the job had been completed.
Meanwhile, after the villagers protested it, a boring machine owned by a political leader was dispatched to the village to dig the well. However, the villagers protested the move by not allowing the machine to enter the village and demanded that the nexus of officials and political leaders be probed. Consequently, no bore well has been dug till today, though bill has already been paid by the forest range office.
When contacted, Range Officer Padmanav Rout admitted that the bill has been cleared though no bore well has been dug. He asserted that due to rainy season, the boring machine could not be deployed in the village and assured that the work would start soon.