Pradhan alleges irregularities in Project Dakhyata PNS | Bhubaneswar http://www.dailypioneer.com/BHUBANESWAR/Bhubaneswar.html
The State convener of the Right to Food Campaign, Pradip Pradhan, has alleged gross irregularities in the implementation of Project Dakhyata. The guidelines have been flouted and some of the NGOs have been selected both as consortium and district partners, he alleged. Notably, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj has sanctioned Rs 25 crore and the DFID Rs 5 crore for the project. Pradhan alleged choosing CYSD and ISED as both consortium partners and district partners violated the advertisement put on the Panchayati Raj Department website, and he questioned the very basis on which it was done. He also alleged that the information put on the project website was inadequate. He demanded that the department should put more information on the website about the MoU signed with the civil society organisations and their infrastructure, functions, staff and salary. Based on his allegations, the Panchayat Raj Department had appointed AV Swamy of VISHWAS, Nuapara as enquiry officer to probe the matter. In the meantime, Swamy has already submitted the inquiry report. The department should have taken some action against the errant officials involved in corruption and irregularities in Project Dakhyata, Pradhan said. But the report is yet to be made public. Pradhan demanded that the inquiry report should be put on the website to maintain transparency and make sure that no wrongdoings have gone into the project. "Further, ISS, New Delhi has been selected as district partner for Boudh. This organisation never works in that district and does not have any infrastructure to conduct training programmes in that district. As far as I know, they have fixed infrastructure (own training hall) and criteria for the organisation to be eligible to conduct training programmes," Pradhan said. "But ISS does not have any training hall in Boudh district. It has come to my notice that ISS Executive Director KK Patnaik has written a letter to SIRD not to be involved in the training programme. Why are they so interested to take ISS as district partner in a small district, which has only three blocks, and why another NGO YCDA has been selected as district partner? Is it not favoritism shown to ISS at the cost of small and local NGOs working in that region," said Pradhan. He also questioned why CYSD's name was not found in the list for district partners even though the department provided him information that CYSD has been selected for five districts. Alleging that when he had asked for information under RTI it was denied to him, Pradhan said he would approach the High Court on the matter soon.
