Bihar Govt. takes action against officials responsible for waterlogging at Patna

Speed Post News Network

Patna : Bihar Government has taken action against officials found wanting in discharge of their duties during the recent waterlogging at Patna by placing them under suspension, withholding payment of salaries, and issuing show-cause notices on them.

The accountability of officials was fixed, remedial measures discussed, and instructions were issued for strict implementation at a review meeting held by CM Nitish Kumar with members of his cabinet and top government officials on October 14, 2019.

Chief Secretary Deepak Kumar told mediapersons that many officials posted in Patna Municipal Corporation and Bihar Urban Infrastructure Development Corporation (BUIDCO) were taken to task while the project manager of the private company L&T, which has been carrying out the Namami Gange project, has been served show-cause notice.

The government took strong exception that many pumps at pump houses across the city did not function when the need arose and drains were not cleared of garbage which prevented discharge of water once the rain stopped, Chief Secretary Kumar added.

The Chief Secretary  said show-cause notices had been issued to a number of BUIDCO officials including a Chief Engineer, two Superintending Engineers, 6 Eexecutive Engineers and executive engineer (mechanical) and an assistant engineer (mechanical). A BUIDCO executive engineer has been transferred, he said.
Among the municipal corporation officials who have been held accountable, 6 Sanitary Inspectors of Kankarbagh and Pataliputra have been suspended while show cause notices have been issued to Executive Officer, City Manager and Chief Sanitary Officer, Kankarbagh. The payment of their salaries has been put on hold.

The Government has suspended the Executive Officer, Chief Sanitary Inspector and all Sanitary Inspectors of Bankipur Circle.  Altogether 22 personnel working with the drainage pump system have been suspended and their salaries withheld, said Chief Secretary Kumar. He said all those served with show-cause notices had been directed to reply at the earliest.

In a move to prevent waterlogging in future, a four-member committee headed by the Development Commissioner Arun Kumar Singh has been formed. It has been asked to submit its findings to the government within a month, Kumar added. The Principal Secretaries of Road Construction, Urban Development and Housing,  and Disaster Management departments are the other members of the committee. It will identify any other officials whose lapse might have been led to waterlogging at Patna.The government would take action against them.

The Chief Minister also stressed on speedy removal of encroachments over the drains and their cleansing for free discharge of waste water. New drainage pumping systems will be installed at 14 places across the city, Kumar said