Bhubaneswar, July 27 (Dumanimail) Opposition BJP and Congress on Wednesday lambasted the Odisha government on the rising incidents of corruption and PC (Percentage ) culture in the state and the failure of the government to put a break on it.
Participating in a debate in the Odisha Assembly on the admissibility of an adjournment motion on PC culture, the opposition members said the PC culture has gripped the state and corruption prevailed in the state from top to bottom.
They cited the example of Nimapara Assistant Engineer Dishamant Dehuri from whose possession the Vigilance department had seized disproportionate assets worth over Rs 3 crore on July 13 last.
BJP Chief Whip Mohan Majhi said the corruption has stalled the development process of the state and ravaged the administrative system.
He said though the government claimed to have adopted a zero tolerance to corruption policy but in fact, the corruption has doubled after the Chief Minister asked the Collectors to stop PC Culture.
Majhi said the corruption helped the ruling BJD to come to power five times in a row.
He said the Vigilance and Police officers who are entrusted with the responsibilities of preventing corruption are being trapped while taking bribes.
As many as 33 Police officers have been arrested during the last 17 months on the charge of their involvement in corruption.
He alleged that the Vigilance department is working to highlight the image of the Chief Minister and not to prevent corruption.
Stating that corruption cannot be checked in such a way the Opposition Chief Whip demanded the government to create a separate department and allow it to function independently to check corruption in the state.
His Party Colleagues Bishnu Sethi and Mukesh Mahaling (BJP )said corruption prevailed in all departments right from top to bottom in a very organised way.
Santosh Singh Saluja (Congress ) said the system is such that one is compelled to pay a PC to get his work done.
His Party Colleague Taraprasad Bahinipati said corruption is rampant and work order is being given without tender. He demanded that the corrupt officials should be dismissed from service.
The treasury bench members, however, refuted the opposition allegation and said the government is committed to prevent corruption and has taken a number of measures in this regard.
Replying to the debate on behalf of Chief Minister Parliamentary Affairs Minister Niranjan Pujari described the opposition allegation of PC Culture as baseless.
He said on the other hand the government has taken a number of measures to root out corruption from the state. The government, he said, is committed to maintain transparency and preventing corruption.
Pujari said the tender process is being done through an online e-tender process. License is being given to contractors through the Contractor Database management System and payment is being made through the online WAMIS and IFMS system.
He said during the last one and half years the Vigilance department has registered 404 criminal cases against 758 people which included 76 Group A officers.
Similarly, 43 Group A and 49 Group B officers have been arrested and disproportionate assets worth Rs 254.57 crore have been recovered.
As many as 16 employees have been dismissed from service and the pension of 15 retired employees has been stopped.
During the period the Vigilance department seized property over Rs 14.88 crore from a Group B officer and detected Rs 10 lakh from another Group B officer in a trap case.
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