Cuttack, March 16: A petitioner, seeking CBI probe into the multi-crore mining scam, filed an additional affidavit in Orissa High Court today pointing out inadequate manpower of the State Vigilance Police (SVP) on the basis of the chief minister’s statement.
Replying to a question in the Assembly on Monday, chief minister Naveen Patnaik said that the state vigilance had 18 permanent staff. While 219 staff had retired between 2000 and 2010, another 259 employees had served it and returned to their parent department during the same period, the additional affidavit said.
While requisitions for services on deputations from other departments had been made against 69 vacant posts, two officers joined, the chief minister’s answer indicated. Lawyer-petitioner Rini Rath filed the additional affidavit.
Anup Kumar Patnaik, director-cum-DG of police (vigilance), in an affidavit filed by him earlier in reply to Rini’s PIL, said: “There is no constraint for the vigilance department owing to shortage of staff, logistic or expertise.”
“The state vigilance has got the necessary manpower, infrastructure and expertise to take up any kind of instruction, as and when the same is entrusted to it. It is not a fact that the CBI alone has the expertise to investigate the cases related to mining scam or violation of environment, pollution control law and arms act,” Patnaik stated in the affidavit filed on December 16, 2010.
According to the vigilance DG’s affidavit, six divisional offices at Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Berhampur, Koraput, Balasore and Sambalpur are headed each by an officer of the rank of SP. Apart from this, there is a separate vigilance cell functioning at Cuttack and Bhubaneswar under direct control of the vigilance DG. There are offices in all 30 districts and each is headed by a deputy superintendent of police (DSP) with supportive staff and infrastructure.
There are 201 investigating officers in the rank of SP, DSP and inspectors posted in the vigilance organisation. To help in technical investigation the body has engineers, commercial tax department officials, forest department officials, statistical department officials and other staff.
Being entrusted to investigate into illegal mining from two mines in Keonjhar district that had not been leased out, the state vigilance registered 16 FIRs and filed chargesheets in two of the cases.
Besides, Orissa High Court has directed the state counsel “to produce the vigilance file in relation to mining matter which are registered by the vigilance authority”.
The two-judge bench of Chief Justice V. Gopal Gowda and Justice B.N. Mohapatra issued the order on Tuesday after admitting another PIL seeking CBI probe on the mining scam for analogous hearing along with the other six PILs and an intervention petition.
