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Cuttack, April 7: The Orissa High Court Tuesday ordered the state government against taking action against officials involved in the fake appointments in the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) case.
The High Court bench comprising justices Indrajit Mohanty and Biswanath Rath, directed that no action shall be initiated against the officials until further orders and asked the secretary of Housing and Urban Development department to submit a report in this regard.
The state government had admitted before the High Court January 29, 2015 that a large number of fake appointments had been made in CMC in two phases during 1996-97 and 1998-99.
Salaries against these non-existent employees continue to be drawn, which go into the pockets of some key officials, it said.
In an affidavit made before the HC, urban development secretary G Mathivathnan said irregularities had been committed by the CMC authorities in the appointments for posts of sweepers, road gangs, drain gangs, de-weeding workers and teachers.
The government also informed the court that criminal action will be initiated against the erring officials within 30 days as per the provisions of Orissa Municipal Act, 1950 and steps being taken as per the provisions of Orissa Local Audit Fund Act of 1948 to recover the illegal payments made against the fake appointments.
The government affidavit came in the wake of an earlier High Court notice made in response to a PIL filed by senior city-based journalist Pradeep Sahu.
The PIL was filed in 2003 in which the petitioner had alleged 117 fake appointments were made.
