Bargarh: The Odisha government has placed three senior engineers under immediate suspension following allegations of gross misconduct and dereliction of duty. The disciplinary action is linked to irregularities in the execution of a major canal front development project in Bargarh Town.
The suspended officials are Madan Mohan Sethy, Superintending Engineer of Bargarh Irrigation Division, Raj Kumar Mishra, Assistant Executive Engineer of Bheden Irrigation Sub-Division, and Ranjan Patel, Assistant Engineer of Bargarh Canal Section.
According to the official order issued by the Water Resources department, a formal disciplinary proceeding is being contemplated against the trio regarding the construction of a box conduit over Bargarh distributary, stretching from RD 3561m to 5473m under Phase-I of the Canal Division’s development project.
The suspension will remain in effect until further notice. To facilitate the ongoing investigation, the state has restricted the movement of the engineers and reassigned their headquarters. Sethy has been attached to the Office of the Engineer-in-Chief, Water Resources, in Bhubaneswar, while Mishra and Patel have been stationed at the Office of the Chief Engineer & Basin Manager, Mahanadi Basin in Burla.
The officials are strictly prohibited from leaving their newly assigned headquarters without obtaining prior permission from the competent authority. During the suspension period, they will receive a subsistence allowance in accordance with Rule-90 of the Odisha Service Code, it added.