Overview
- The agency detained a former junior engineer, the municipal engineer and a private contractor after an anti-corruption probe into the Pattanaik Tank reclamation and renovation project in Paralakhemundi.
- Investigators say the former JE made false and inflated entries in official Measurement Books that were verified by the municipal engineer, enabling the release of payments to the contractor.
- Records show the contractor received Rs 1,22,40,700 through three running-account bills after tax deductions, while a separate technical assessment found work worth Rs 55,69,033 was not done or was substandard.
- Odisha Vigilance registered case 07/2026 at Brahmapur Vigilance Police Station and has invoked sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act and multiple IPC provisions including charges for criminal conspiracy, breach of trust, cheating and forgery.
- The case highlights risks in running-account payments and field check measurements in public works and could prompt wider reviews of project verification and payment controls in municipal contracts.