01-07-2025
Vigilance finds 84-acre land owned by govt official in Odisha
BHUBANESWAR: A Vigilance raid on joint director in the directorate of Soil Conservation and Watershed Development, Dayanidhi Bagh, over allegations of amassing disproportionate assets (DA) has revealed that he was in possession of a whopping 84 acre of land and buildings worth crores.
Vigilance officials said this is the first time they unearthed such a large land area in the name of a government official and his family members.
Bagh was earlier posted as the project director of the watershed wing in Rayagada district. In May, the anti-corruption agency had arrested four officials of the watershed wing in Rayagada for allegedly misappropriating funds to the tune of Rs 20 lakh. He was since under the scanner of Vigilance and recently posted in the Soil Conservation directorate in Bhubaneswar.
During searches on Monday, Bagh was found in possession of a farmhouse on over 40 acre of land with drip irrigation facility and agricultural equipment worth Rs 1 crore in Bijaraguda, another farmhouse over 6 acre land amounting to Rs 46.12 lakh at Phatakote, a 27 acre land in Nabarangpur and 11 acre on the outskirts of Bhawanipatna in Kalahandi district.
