Sambalpur: A legal team‘s attempt to seize movable property from the Mahanadi basin engineer’s office in Burla, following a court order, was thwarted on Friday when they found the premises empty of furniture and equipment. The seizure was ordered by the civil judge (senior division), Sambalpur, over non-payment of dues of Rs 1.88 crore to a private construction company.
The dispute dates back to 2000 when the company constructed a 4-km-long ring road along the Mahanadi river from Kacheri Chowk to Durgapali here, a flood control project valued at Rs 52 lakh. After the water resources department failed to clear the dues, the company filed a lawsuit in 2009.
In 2014, the court ordered the department to pay Rs 1.36 crore, including interest and legal costs, to the company. The amount subsequently increased to Rs 1.88 crore by Aug 2024. The court’s recent order this year authorised the attachment of movable properties belonging to the department’s officials.
“When we arrived at the office, there was nothing to seize. All office equipment and furniture were removed,” said Souri Padhi, legal adviser to the construction company. He said the office’s name change from upper Mahanadi basin to Mahanadi basin further complicated the execution of the court order.
Sushil Kumar Behera, chief engineer and basin manager, confirmed the name change occurred in 2014. “We have already informed the court about the change in office name. We will comply with the court order,” he said.
The court order named four entities responsible for the payment — the water resources department office in Bhubaneswar, the chief engineer and basin manager of upper Mahanadi basin, the superintending engineer of Hirakud dam, and the executive engineer of Sambalpur irrigation division. The legal team plans to report the failed seizure attempt to the court for further direction.