Bhubaneswar, 01 July (H.S.): In a major crackdown on corruption in rural development projects, the Odisha Vigilance has arrested two engineers of Kotagarh Block in Kandhamal district for their alleged involvement in the misappropriation of more than ₹42 lakh under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee (MGNREG) scheme.

The arrested officials have been identified as Prasanta Kumar Patra, Assistant Engineer (AE), and Prafulla Kumar Behera, Junior Engineer (JE). Both will be produced before the competent court on Wednesday.

The arrests stem from an investigation into alleged financial irregularities in the execution of the Amrit Sarovar (Pond) project and other allied development works in the Dharakote Gram Panchayat under Kotagarh Block. According to Vigilance officials, the alleged fraud occurred over a three-year period, from the financial year 2023–24 to 2025–26.

A joint physical verification and detailed technical inspection conducted during the inquiry revealed a significant mismatch between official records and the actual work executed at the project sites. While government records showed that ₹49,83,995 had been released and fully disbursed for the projects, the technical assessment found that work worth only ₹7,42,357 had actually been carried out.

Investigators alleged that the remaining amount, exceeding ₹42 lakh, was fraudulently withdrawn without the corresponding execution of development works, resulting in substantial loss to the government exchequer.

The inquiry also uncovered serious violations of MGNREGA operational guidelines. Under the scheme, digital geo-tagged photographs of project sites at various stages of execution are mandatory before bills can be generated and payments released. However, investigators found that no geo-tagged photographs had been captured or uploaded in connection with the projects under scrutiny.

Based on the findings, Odisha Vigilance has registered Berhampur Vigilance P.S. Case No. 06/2026 against the accused under relevant provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2018, and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

The investigation is continuing to ascertain the involvement of other officials or individuals and to uncover the full extent of the alleged financial irregularities.

Hindusthan Samachar / Monalisa Panda