Bhubaneswar: A court in Odisha’s Kendrapada district initiated attachment proceedings against a Rural Development Department office over its failure to pay Rs 1.37 crore, including interest, to a contractor.
A special team carried out the attachment at the department’s office in Shyamagudia, on the outskirts of Kendrapada town, following an order of the Civil Judge (Senior Division), Commercial Court yesterday. A notice was pasted on the office wall and an inventory of movable assets was prepared in the presence of the contractor’s lawyer.
The case concerns unpaid bills of contractor Ramesh Chandra Samantaray of Kujang Sandhapur village, who constructed two cyclone shelters at Talchua and Daleisahi under Rajnagar block in 2003 at a cost of Rs 1.07 crore. After the department failed to clear his dues, he moved the court, which subsequently directed it to pay the outstanding amount with interest.
Samantaray died during the pendency of the case, following which his wife and legal heirs were substituted as petitioners.
The attached assets will be assessed and valued before being auctioned, if necessary, to recover the outstanding dues.
