World Bank health project scam: Seven officals held in Orissa

Bhubaneswar, Jul 1 (UNI) Criminal cases against seven officials, including retired IAS officer Mayadhar Panigrahi, have been filed by the Vigilance Department for their alleged involvement in a World Bank-promoted Rs 423-crore Orissa Health System Development Project (OHSDP) scam.

The persons, accused guilty yesterday under various Sections of Prevention of Corruption Act, were OHSDP Director Mayadhar Panigrahi, Joint Director Sugat Kar, Assistant Director Taramani Patnaik (All retired), Deputy Director Rajesh Mishra, Chief Accounts Officer Bibhuti Bhushan Misra and Executive Engineer B C Tripathy.

The scam came to light during an internal audit, conducted by the World Bank. Out of Rs 423 crore, earmarked for the OHSDP, the state government managed to spend only Rs Rs 320 crore from 1997 to 2006.

UNI BD-DP SB SJC KLC1426