Bhubaneswar: Cases have been registered against as many as 24 government officials and three public representatives in connection with the corrupt PC (percentage commission) practice in government works, informed Panchayati Raj minister Pratap Jena to the Odisha Assembly today.
Responding to a question, the minister said that cases pertaining to PC collection were registered in nine districts of the State, while maximum nine cases have been registered in Dhenkanal district since 2012.
Later, the House witnessed unruly scenes as the members of Opposition parties expressed grave concerns over the issue and criticized the State government. The Congress members alleged that PC collection is on the rise and the government is only taking actions against the junior officials, while the big fishes involved in corruption are roaming freely.
"Starting from panchayat level to secretariat, PC collection is rampant. Be it old-age pension, Mo Kudia scheme or any other schemes, all the officials and people's representatives are collecting PC, " said Congress member Tara Bahinipati.
Similarly, BJP members also targeted the State government. The Leader of Opposition (LoP), Pradipta Naik said all the junior engineers (JE) across the State are collecting PC to pass bills. "The State government has failed to curb PC collection. No JE is passing bills without taking PC from the contactors," Naik said.
"The government is taking actions to curb PC collection and we are working to stop such practice," said ruling BJD MLA, Latika Pradhan.
On July 16, the minister informed the House that the State government has taken action against 836 government officials, who were involved in corruption in government housing schemes in last two years.