| MANOJ KAR | ||
Paradip, Nov. 23: Close on the heels of mysterious disappearance of immovable asset like ‘pindis’ or shelter structures, more skeletons have begun tumbling out of Paradip Municipality’s cupboard.
The alleged misuse of urban development grants has come to the forefront with the civic body council drawing the state government’s attention.
Majority of members of the urban local body (ULB) are up in arms against the money laundering allegedly perpetrated by the dissolved municipality body during 2008-09.
“Fiscal embezzlement is crystal clear. An estimated Rs 2.67 crore were by and large misappropriated by the former ULB. After the new municipality council took over earlier this year, we have unmasked the corruptive practice,” vice-chairman of Paradip Municipality Basanta Kumar Biswal said. “The municipal body, while adopting a unanimous resolution, has knocked at the doors of the state urban development department. The state urban development minister has been apprised of the rampant misappropriation of taxpayers’ money. The council has pressed forth the point that the government should institute a probe by vigilance wing of state police apart from the special audit squad,” Biswal said.
During 2008-09 financial year, authorities violated the rules and guidelines with impunity and laundered public money without adhering to mandatory tender bidding process. For street lighting, high-max lights were purchased without the mandatory tender bidding process. The materials were substandard and the lighting system gradually turned dysfunctional.
“The misuse of funds during the mosquito control drive is evident. Anti-malaria lubricant to wipe out mosquito larvae was purchased from a fictitious farm instead of Indian Oil Corporation. The port town, with its 18 urban wards, required 40 to 45 barrels of larvae-killing oil, but the authorities at that time procured 137 barrels,” said Biswal.
Over Rs 2 crore for urban infrastructure repair were mostly misused. For various projects, works were executed on paper only. Eighteen Balwadi workers recruited by the then ULB under Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) were mired in favouritism. “Without seeking the advice of the neighbourhood committee, appointments were made. However, the ICDS authorities terminated the recruitments after the urban local body members had taken up the matter,” Biswal said.
“The ULB members have raised these corruption-related issued in the municipality council meet and they have adopted an official resolution in this regard. The state urban development department is probing the charges,” said executive officer of municipality Surath Mallick.
Paradip Port Trust takes care of most of the work in urban infrastructure development in Paradip civil township. However, the municipality body is duty-bound to look after the civic amenities and sanitation measures in the township. The municipality had taken care of the drinking water supply and road laying and repair in a cluster of slum settlements, said Mallick.
Paradip, Nov 23 Close on the heels of mysterious disappearance of immovable asset like ‘pindis’ or shelter structures, more skeletons have begun tumbling out of Paradip municipality’s cupboard.
The alleged misuse of urban development grants has come to the forefront with the civic body council drawing the state government’s attention.
Majority of members of the urban local body are up in arms against the money laundering allegedly perpetrated by the dissolved municipality body during 2008-09 financial year.
“Fiscal embezzlement is crystal clear. An estimated Rs 2.67 crore was by and large misappropriated by the former ULB. After the new municipality council took over earlier this year, we have unmasked the corruptive practice”, Basanta Kumar Biswal, vice chairman, Paradip municipality told The Telegraph.
“The municipal body while adopting a unanimous resolution has knocked at the doors of state urban development department. The State urban development minister has been apprized of the rampant misappropriation of tax payers’ money. The council has pressed forth the point that the government should institute a probe by vigilance wing of state police besides by special audit squad”, Vice chairman Biswal maintained.
The said financial irregularities were perpetrated during 2008-09 financial year. The then authorities violated the rules and guidelines with impunity and laundered public money without adhering to mandatory tender bidding process.
For street lighting, high-max lights were purchased without the mandatory tender bidding process. The materials were substandard. As a result, lighting system gradually turned dysfunctional.
“Whiff of fund misuse in mosquito control drive is quite noticeable. Anti-malaria lubricant to wipe out mosquito larvae was purchased unauthorizedly from a fictitious farm while the public sector Indian oil corporation used to supply this oil in past. The port town with its 18 urban wards is in requirement of 40-45 barrels of larvae-killing oil, but the then authorities procured 137 barrels of such oil during the said period”, charged vice chairman Biswal.
Over Rs 2 crore spent for urban infrastructure repair was mostly misused. For various projects, works were executed on paper only.
Eighteen Balwadi workers recruited by the then ULB under Integrated child development scheme (ICDS) was mired in favoritism.
Without seeking the advice of ‘neighborhood committee, the appointments were made. However, the ICDS authorities terminated the recruitment after the urban local body members took up the matter, he told.
“The urban local body members have raised these corruption-related issued in the municipality council meeting and they have adopted an official resolution in this regard. The charges that were leveled by the council members are now being probed by the state urban development department”, said Surath Mallick, executive officer of the municipality.
The major works in urban infrastructure development in Paradip civil township is shouldered by Paradip port trust. However the municipality body is duty-bound to look after the civic amenities and sanitation measures in the fast-growing township. The drinking water supply and road laying and repair in a cluster of slum settlements, both authorized and unauthorized, are taken care of by the municipality body, added Mallick.
sourced from the telegraph
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Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Funds blow to civic body - Members up in arms against embezzlement
Friday, November 19, 2010
Colourful wall art to beautify Paradip
| MANOJ KAR | ||||
Paradip, Nov. 18: The port town is slowly getting a cultural makeover due to the efforts of the Paradip Port Trust (PPT).
Authorities of PPT have embarked on a beautification drive. Many roadside walls wear an ethnic look with murals and patachitra paintings.
“The focal point of the exercise is to promote art. At the same time, it’s a concerted effort to give a facelift to defaced walls. Paintings would add to the intrinsic beauty of the fast-growing port town,” said Pravat Kumar Nanda, secretary, PPT.
“Our emphasis is to showcase the rich maritime history, culture and heritage of this region through the artworks. We have begun refurbishing the walls with traditionalpatachitra paintings,” said Biplav Kumar, chairman, PPT.
“The traditional form of paintings has its own lucid style. The dexterous portrayal of bold lines and bright colours captivate the eye. We’ve seen many school children getting attracted to the paintings. It would enhance creative attributes in their minds,” said Dipti Prakash Pattnaik, an art lover.
In the first phase, the compound walls of the buildings owned by PPT are being given a new look with artistic touches. Its cost is being borne by the port trust. Besides this, the port trust has leased out buildings to various public sector undertaking units, nationalised banks, insurance sectors, state government offices and private enterprises.
PPT has hired the services of traditional patachitra artists for the purpose of patronising the art form, which is struggling for survival.
“We have been asked to depict the rich navigation history of Paradip through our paintings. We’ll also illustrate the tribal lifestyle and culture,” said Narendra Sutar, a patachitra artist.
They are being paid Rs 40 per square foot of painting.
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Paradip Port adjudged for the Major Port of the Year award
The Paradip Port Trust (PPT) has been adjudged for the Major Port of the Year award for the year 2009-10 at the Annual Indian Maritime Gateway Awards 2010 ceremony organised by Gateway Media Private Ltd.
PPT chairman Biplav Kumar received the trophy at a function on November 12 in Mumbai. The award was conferred on the port for its outstanding achievements.
The port carved golden letters in the Indian maritime history by handling 57.01 MT of cargo during the year 2009-10, registering 22.84 per cent growth year-on-year compared to 5.74 per cent average growth of all Major Ports during the period.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Red signal for trucks on NH-5A - Govt bans iron-ore carrying vehicles after traffic chaos, accidents
MANOJ KAR
Paradip, Nov. 16: The district administration has imposed prohibitory orders on the movement of ore-laden trucks on the National Highway 5A, between Daitari and Paradip port due to growing public resentment. A large number of ore-laden trucks from mining areas went to Paradip port for export through the 82km expressway.
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| Ore-laden trucks stuck in a jam on the national highway en route to the Paradeep port. Telegraph picture |
A major section of the expressway runs through Kendrapara district and thousands of ore-laden trucks from the mineral rich Keonjhar and Jajpur have made life miserable for people in Kendrapara because of frequent jam on the national highway. The district administration has initiated the move under rule-115 of the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988 and also on the basis of regulations framed under the Orissa Motor Vehicle Rules.
“We have been forced to impose the ban as it is causing hardships for villagers living near the national highway in particular and the people of the district in general. It will remain effective till further orders. The ban will be withdrawn after the administration reviews the situation,” said Kendrapara collector Dhananjaya Das.
Keeping in view the enormous traffic load because of the iron-ore transportation to Paradip port, the government had constituted a high-power comprising with the collectors of Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Keonjhar and Jajpur districts. The district magistrate and collector of Kendrapara is the nodal officer to ensure smooth traffic on this stretch.
Earlier, ore-carrying trucks were barred from plying on the right lane of the NH. The right lane was reserved for normal vehicular traffic. But that was mostly violated as the traffic control mechanism jointly managed by the Paradip and Kendrapara police, miserably failed to restore order.
Apart from this, the ore-laden trucks ran totally unregulated. Thousands of trucks were on the move at any given time. This resulted in chaos as truckers indulged in overtaking and got into the restricted right lane of the NH. That led to normal traffic being stranded for hours together. There was also a spurt in road accident cases.
“We have now limited plying of such loaded trucks to 1,300 everyday. The principal mining hub of Joda-Barbil would have the right to release 1,000 loaded vehicles while 300 loaded trucks from the rest of mining belt in Jajpur district would be allowed to ply on the expressway,” said collector Dhananjaya Das.
The district administration has directed the deputy director of mines to regulate the number of trucks at the ore lifting points. “We have no complaints against such a ban as it has been done on larger public interest. Still, it should be for a limited period of time,” said Giridhari Sahu, vice-president, Paradip Truck Owners’ Association.
“In the Paradip-Kendrapara region, there are more than 4,000 truck-owners. In the event of such a ban stretching longer, the livelihood of thousands of families would be at stake. Most of them are unemployed youths who are on the transport trade by borrowing from banks and private financiers,” Sahu added.
The highway in question is referred to as the lifeline of Paradip port because it connects it with the mineral-rich hinterland in Keonjhar and Jajpur districts. With the export of iron-ore being at an all-time high at present, there has been enormous pressure on the highway.
“The residents of this district are being sandwiched while the Paradip Port Trust and the mine owners are minting money as the iron-ore export has reached its peak. The people of this region are getting killed on a daily basis following a spurt in road mishaps. The iron-ore boom and its resultant traffic congestion has badly affected daily life here,” said senior district congress committee president Debendra Sharma.
(sourced from the telegraph)
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