JAGATSINGHPUR: Large-scale irregularities have come to the fore at quarantine centres in Tirtol and some other blocks in the district. Most of these facilities have been supplied with poor quality beds, sheets, soap, sanitiser, food and other materials. This was exposed in the e-office system which was recently introduced in the district to usher in transparency in Government offices with Tirtol block being a glaring instance.
Of the eight blocks in the district, Tirtol was shown to have spent Rs 17 lakh towards purchase of materials for temporary medical camps (TMCs) and supply of cooked food to the poor affected by the lockdown in the last one month. While nearly 5,800 poor people were provided cooked food in the last one month in seven blocks, Tirtol surprisingly distributed the same to 3,920 persons by spending lakhs of rupees during the same period.
As the discrepancy was detected in the e-office system, which further found that the excess expenditure was made by showing false bills on purchase of different items, Collector Sangram Keshari Mohapatra issued a show cause notice to block development officer (BDO) Ranjan Kumar Parida. The latter then reportedly reduced the expenditure to Rs 51,000 from Rs 17 lakh.
The BDO refused to comment on the issue but chairperson of Tirtol panchayat samiti Sujata Mohanty said the irregularities were unearthed by Jagatsinghpur Collector. Inquiry is underway to determine the exact amount of funds that have been misutilised, she added.
As many as 193 TMCs with 4,548 beds have been set up in 198 panchayats of Jagatsinghpur to accommodate migrant workers returning to the State. In urban areas of the district, four TMCs have been opened with 83 beds.
The administration has provided beds, sheets, pillows, water purifiers, soaps, sanitisers, buckets, mugs and other daily use items to the inmates. Besides, cooked food is being supplied to the inmates as well as poor people including beggars, mentally-ill and destitute who have been affected by the lockdown. Panchayat samiti member of Jagannathpur Mahmood Baig alleged that funds allotted to purchase water purifiers for TMCs have been misused.
Without the knowledge of sarpanch, block officials have purchased substandard purifiers of a Chinese brand at Rs 7,000 per piece but shown it as Rs 17,000 by producing false bills. These have been supplied to 19 TMCs in Raghunathpur block, he claimed. However, Raghunathpur BDO Ashok Kumar Mohanty refuted the allegation and said they were procured from a Bhubaneswar-based agency.