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PATNA: State’s water resources department (WRD) on Tuesday ordered lodging of FIRs against 68 government engineers and three big contractors after serious irregularities were found in the works executed by them in repair of anti-flood embankments, renovation of canals and construction of cross drainage structures in different irrigation divisions in Purnia, Saharsa, Madhepura and Katihar districts of north Bihar .

The order for lodging the FIRs were issued after getting mandatory approvals from the WRD minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh and the CM Nitish Kumar as the engineers involved in the irregularities are upto the rank of executive engineers and assistant engineers who come under the bracket of state government’s gazetted officers, a department officer familiar with the development told TOI.

Besides the lodging of FIRs, separate departmental proceedings would also be launched against all 68 engineers currently working in the rank of junior engineer (JE), assistant engineer (AE) and executive engineer (EE) in different irrigation divisions, the WRD’s public relation officer Arvind Kumar Singh said.

He said the construction firms against whom lodging of FIRs had been ordered are Messrs Mangalmurty Construction, Bailey Road, Patna, Messrs IVRCL, Hyderabad and Messrs NR-JKN-Kamal (JV).

Singh said orders have been issued to register FIRs against a total of 42 engineers, right from JEs to EEs, in Purnia irrigation region after serious lapses were found during a departmental inquiry in the works related to renovation of East Kosi canal.

Similarly, the department issued orders to register criminal cases against 20 engineers of Katihar and Salmari flood control divisions in Katihar district after irregularities were found in repair and renovation works of left and right embankments of Mahananda river under the Upper Mahananda Plan-Phase 1.

The department also issued separate orders to register criminal cases against the EE, AE and JE of irrigation division, Murliganj (Madhepura) as an internal inquiry revealed that works were not done as per the approved estimates in construction of a cross-drainage structure.

Lodging of FIRs have also been ordered against the JE, AE and EE in the irrigation division, Saharsa, after an internal inquiry revealed that works were not done as per the approved estimates in construction of a water outlet, the WRD official said.

