BHUBANESWAR: The State Government on Friday found the Posco heat too hot to handle and shifted senior IAS officer Priyabrat Patnaik from the post of CMD, Idco.The Government is under fire from the Opposition over the bloody clash near the Posco site and Idco awarding contract of a coastal road project to a controversial firm.Patnaik has been posted Additional Chief Secretary, Public Grievance and Pension Administration Department. Panchayati Raj Secretary Pradip Kumar Jena has been given the additional charge of Idco CMD.The transfer came two days after the murder of a person in the clash between anti-Posco activists and people engaged by the private firm for construction of the coastal road to link Posco project site with Paradip.Members cutting across party lines on Friday slammed the Government in the Assembly saying Idco awarded the Rs 85-crore road project to the private agency without floating tender.Raising the issue through an adjournment motion, Congress Chief Whip Prasad Harichandan sought to know from the Government about the manner in which the contract for the road project was awarded to Paradip Parivahan Limited which sublet the work to Bapi Sarkel.One general manager of Idco informed the media on Thursday that the road project was taken up under PPP mode in which Paradip Port Trust, Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) and Posco are partners. A committee comprising members from the stakeholders decided the contract and the Government has no role in it, Harichandan claimed.Alleging that Sarkel had renovated the Paradip block police station by constructing two additional rooms at his own cost, Harichandan sought to know from the Chief Minister the details about the renovation and payment.Even ruling BJD members Damodar Rout and Bishnu Das questioned how Sarkel got contract for the road project. Rout was highly critical of the manner in which the contract was awarded to Sarkel ignoring the local contractors.BJP Legislature Party leader KV Singhdeo said the contract was awarded to a person who is facing several criminal cases, including murder. He alleged that Sarkel has kept some Thai nationals as his security guards. He sought to know from the Chief Minister if his Government is aware of it and whether the foreign nationals have been permitted by the Government to carry firearms.
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