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Patnaik orders probe into Kashipur welfare project

Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has ordered a probe into the implementation of a welfare project for tribals in Kashipur that is in the news for reported starvation deaths.

Large-scale corruption and irregularities have been alleged in the execution of the Orissa Tribal Development Project in the poverty-stricken Kashipur block in Raigada district, about 100 km from Bhubaneshwar.

Patnaik ordered the probe on the basis of a report by Hurshikesh Panda, former deputy administrator of Kalahandi, Bolangir and Koraput districts. "Panda had inquired into the allegations of irregularities and had found evidence of bungling," a revenue official said.

Panda's report of September 22, 1999 had highlighted alleged misappropriation of funds and poor execution of the project under which the state government had given nearly Rs 600 million in 1987 for Kashipur alone for its development over a period of seven years.

The primary objective of the programme was to increase the income level by developing agricultural activities.

"All the funds have been spent but the number of people below the poverty line has increased from 15,471 in 1992 to 24,582 in 1997," said the official.

The state government had sent a team of officials to Kashipur, which also found instances of bungling of funds.

Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram had written a letter to the state chief minister asking him to order a probe into the irregularities, the official said.

While the project managers had failed to utilise even half of the total funds between 1988 and 1996, about Rs 400 million was spent in just one year during 1996-1997, sources said.

The project created a large number of contractors and suppliers who got paid for non-existent works. Not a single sapling supposedly planted under the program can be traced today, sources said.

Indo-Asian News Service

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