Keonjhar/Hatadihi: The Orissa High Court issued an interim stay order regarding the proceedings of the MGNREGA ombudsman concerning a case (W.P.(C) No. 20995/2024) related to Hatadihi block in Keonjhar district September 6, sources said Sunday.
Notices have been issued to the concerned parties, including Himanshu Shekhar Nayak, the District Collector of Keonjhar, the CEO of Keonjhar Zilla Parishad, the Sub-Collector of Anandapur, the BDO of Hatadihi, and the ombudsman of Keonjhar MGNREGA. The case pertains to allegations of financial irregularities in the MGNREGA scheme in Hatadihi block. Initially, Himanshu Shekhar Nayak had filed a complaint with the Odisha Lokayukta regarding the matter.
Based on Lokayukta’s notice, the government officials and local representatives had submitted written responses. While the case was being heard, the Lokayukta requested a report on the actions taken by the Keonjhar District Collector.
In response, the block staff approached the High Court, challenging the Lokayukta’s report. The High Court issued a stay order, and the case remains under trial. Subsequently, Himanshu Shekhar filed another complaint with government offices regarding similar incidents, demanding action. Following this, the Keonjhar MGNREGA Ombudsman issued a notice (No.15/2024) to the Hatadihi block office and conducted an investigation.
Opposing the move, engineers Suprabha Pradhan and Jyoti Ranjan Samantaray approached the High Court. After hearing the case, Justice SK Mishra issued a stay order on the proceedings of the ombudsman and directed that notices be served to the concerned parties.