Odisha govt gives compulsory retirement to 5 officials

Bhubaneswar: As many as five government officials have been given compulsory retirement on grounds of inefficiency and dereliction of duty.

Reportedly, the five officers given compulsory retirement include engineer, Child Development Project Officer (CDPO), Anganwadi Supervisor, Police Inspector, and Revenue Supervisor. Strict action has been taken against a total of 146 officials as of now.

1. Assistant Engineer Santosh Kumar Das of ITDA in Baripada at Mayurbhanj. He has Rs 2.80 crore in disproportionate assets against him. He was earlier arrested and been forwarded to court. Out of the total disproportionate assets Rs 71.8 lakh cash was seized from his house. He owns a two-storey house in Bargarh area of Bhubaneswar, a flat in Sailashree Vihar, and a half-constructed building in Kalinga Vihar. There are also 3 plots in Balasore.
2. Jagatsinghpur District Balikudar Group Development Project Officer (CDPO) Sarala Dey has been charged with corruption. She was caught red-handed by the anti-corruption department while accepting a bribe of Rs 20,000. According to the Anti-Corruption Department, he has five plots in Bhubaneswar, one in Pipili and two in Jagatsinghpur. There is also a two-storey building in Jagatsinghpur along with cash and jewelleries.
3. There is an allegation of corruption in the name of Anganwadi Supervisor of Balikuda, Jagatsinghpur Pratima Sahu. She was caught red-handed by the anti-corruption department while demanding and accepting bribes following which she was arrested and was taken into custody.
4. There were several allegations in the name of Police Inspector of Anugul Police Training College Ramchandra Behera.
5. There are also allegations of corruption in the name of Revenue Supervisor, Hridayananda Sahu, who works in the office of the Keonjhar District Head Tahsildar. He was caught red-handed by the anti-corruption department while demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 20,000 from a man during a land survey.

Feedback from Mo Sarkar and other sources has also been taken into account. The government officials have been forced to retire due to incompetence, dishonesty, and financial irregularities.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has always given emphasis on maintaining high morals and integrity in the field of public life. He has always insisted on zero-tolerance against incompetent and corrupt officials. He has continuously given efforts to provide services to the people through a transparent, efficient, and accountable administration.

The state government has recently fired a senior Indian Forest Service official and a senior Indian administrative officer.