Malkangiri: Malkangiri District Collector Vishal Singh said Tuesday that a total of 48 mining lease tenders for minor minerals has been cancelled. He did so following the recommendation of the Revenue Divisional Commissioner (Southern Range). It should be stated here that Singh’s predecessor Yeddula Vijay had been accused of taking the boxes where tenders were deposited to his home.
Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) working president Pradeep Majhi had earlier alleged that Vijay had received kickback worth crores of rupees and a SUV from CH Venugopal of Andhra Pradesh for awarding him with the lease of seven stone quarries by manipulating the tender process held in March. Venugopal is the proprietor of ‘VG Granites’ located at Peta village in Motu tehsil.
However, Vijay had refuted the allegations against him. He had said that he had taken the boxes with tender applications to his home for security reasons.
The allegations were probed by the revenue divisional commissioner (RDC). After completion of investigation, he had recommended for cancellation of tenders and leases for minor minerals given to various companies.
PNN
