Bhubaneswar: Three officials of the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Department, Jajpur Division have been found guilty by the Odisha Lokayukta for tender fixing and irregularities in the completion of a drinking water project. The Lokayukta has found former executive engineer Amiya Kumar Parija, assistant executive engineer (estimator) Sanjukta Sahu and former accountant Lalkrushna Bastia guilty of irregularities for their role in tender fixing. The judgment was pronounced by the Lokayukta chairperson Ajit Singh and members Debabrata Swain and Rajendra Sharma.
According to reports, there were gross irregularities in the construction of the drinking water project in Gengutia of Kamaguda panchayat under Dharmasala block. The estimated budget for the project was Rs 77.57 lakhs. The officials had claimed in records that the project was complete, but an RTI query of 2019 found that Rs 52.57 lakh was spent. It was found that the project was not complete and the villagers continued to suffer water shortage during the summer. RTI activist Sarbeswar Behura had approached the Lokayukta regarding the issue.
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