Sambalpur: Month-long Silence; No Progress on Corruption Complaint in Vimsar Equipment Purchase
Sambalpur: Concerns have been raised over the purchase of equipment at Vimsar using MCL’s comprehensive development funds, which amounted to over 7.5 crore, following serious charges of corruption. There is a complaint, but it was submitted more than a month ago, and there is dissatisfaction with the lack of decisive action.
Vimsar Hospital has long had corruption problems, and recent occurrences have exposed anomalies once more. Authorities at Vimsar allegedly called an emergency meeting on January 19 to get the department head’s signature to legitimize the purchase process. However, the head of the department filed a formal complaint with the District Collector objecting to this supposed corruption.
In the middle of these occurrences, Sambalpur’s District Collector was removed, and Vimsar’s director was also changed. On the 7th, the Acting Director took the matter seriously and instructed the Chairman and former Store Medical Officers to update all committee members on the complaint’s details. However, progress in the investigation has been slow.
According to reports, the accused professor has not received a satisfactory explanation for entrusting the purchase responsibility of such a sensitive machine to a former Store Medical Officer who was removed from the position by Sambalpur’s District Collector.
The District Collector has been made aware of other procedural mistakes, which raises concerns regarding the District Collector’s exclusion from the meeting on November 7, 2023. Further inquiries focus on the allocation of funds to a specific department during fund transfers, as well as how the head of that department obtained equipment that had not yet been assigned to any other department.
Demands for a high-level inquiry into the issue have been rising from a number of sources, as accountability and transparency in the equipment procurement procedure continue to be questioned.
