Phulbani: Covid-19 fund to the tune of Rs 30 lakh was allegedly misappropriated by the BDO of Khajuripada block in Kandhamal district. The district administration has directed BDO Rabindranath Kahanr to immediately return the embezzled amount.
On the other hand, the administration is carrying out an investigation into the alleged bungling of Rs 1.70 crore which was sanctioned for temporary medical centres (TMCs – civil construction).
The BDO is unable to give details of how the fund was utilised. Besides, he has not furnished documents pertaining to the same. The district administration has asked him to return the fund within a certain timeline.
During the pandemic, the government had made provision of TMCs in all panchayats to keep the returnees from other states in temporary quarantine. BDOs were looking after the arrangement of beds, bed sheets, pillows, mugs, buckets, mattresses and assets for the TMCs.
An investigation revealed that 90 per cent of the usable items of the TMCs were purchased by BDOs. The reports also said that a total of 647 migrants had returned to Khajuripada. As per the SRC guidelines, hygienic kits worth Rs 300 were purchased for each migrant.
Going by the calculation, Rs 1,94,100 would have been spent for purchase of kits for 647 returnees at the TMCs. The investigation revealed that the kits purchased were sub-standard while the Khajuripada BDO had misappropriated Rs 9,67,131.
Besides, there are no documents showing purchase of the kits. The…
