HC notice to Odisha on 'fake' CMC appointments

Taking up a PIL that was filed over 10 years back, the Orissa High Court today issued notice to the state seeking a detailed report on the issues relating to "fake appointments" in the local civic body.
A Division Bench of Chief Justice A K Goel and Justice A K Rath asked the Principal Secretary of state Urban Development department to file an enquiry report on the issue by July 17.
The court directive was given in response to a PIL filed by senior journalist Pradeep Kumar Sahu in 2003 alleging that at least 146 fake appointments had been made in the civic body.

Similarly, another 144 people were given appointment in the CMC between 1998 and 2002 with the help of fake appointment orders, the petitioner maintained saying that some officials had swindled to the tune of Rs 3 crore, which was drawn as salaries of these "non-existent employees", the petitioner had said and sought a CBI inquiry into the act.
The PIL was, however, not taken up in all these years while the state crime branch put few officials under arrest after probe.