Bhubaneswar: Following allegations of rampant irregularities in Odisha Rural Development and Marketing Society (ORMAS) and Odisha Livelihood Mission (OLM), the state government has begun a crackdown on the officials concerned.
Sources revealed that the 5T secretary, VK Pandian, has taken up the matter seriously.
According to official sources, after bashing up the principal secretary, Panchayati Raj, Deoranjan Kumar Singh, the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), Director, National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) and Ex-officio additional secretary, Panchayati Raj, Smruti Ranjan Pradhan, has been sent on compulsory leave. Besides, efforts are on to cancel the training session of Pradhan in Mysore.
An official divulged that some sensitive files from the ORMAS and OLM offices were seized and it is most likely that the probe will be handed over to the Vigilance department.
Meanwhile, Director (Special Projects), Panchayati Raj, Rajesh Prabhakar Patil, has been given the additional charge of director of ORMAS and OLM while senior OAS officer Rabi Mishra, who was in charge of Human Resources in OLM, has been transferred as the project director of District Rural Development Agency in Deogarh. Apart from this, some consultants of OLM have been replaced by some senior OAS officers.
It may be mentioned that the state government has begun the process for the merger of OLM with Mission Shakti in April this year.