By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, October 29, 2019: The Apex Court appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) on Tuesday arrived here and held discussions with the state government officials.

The four member CEC comprises of chairman PV Jayakrishnan, member-secretary Amarnatha Shetty, members SK Patnaik and Mahendra Vyas.

The CEC will conduct spot verification and review fund utilisation and works carried out by the Odisha Mineral Bearing Areas Development Corporation (OMBADC).

The CEC held meeting with chief secretary Asit Tripathy and secretaries of concerned departments here on the first day of its visit on Tuesday. During the meeting, the officials of the OMBADC are understood to have apprised the CEC about project proposals and status of implementation.

The Supreme Court had appointed Justice Ananga Kumar Patnaik as the head of the Oversight Authority Committee to monitor the utilisation of funds. The committee in its meeting in February this year had sanctioned projects worth Rs 10,000 crore to be implemented from the OMBADC fund.

The projects include mega drinking water supply project, health, housing projects and rural road construction projects. The CEC committee has come to the State to monitor the implementation of the projects.

After the meeting with the State government, the CEC proceeded to Keonjhar district where it will visit the project sites tomorrow. The CEC will monitor the projects sites in Mayurbhanj on October 31. The committee members are also likely to visit Similipal Tiger Reserve on November 1.

“We have submitted before the CEC the details of works we have carried out so far. The CEC is scheduled to make field visits in Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar districts,” said Panchayati Raj department secretary Deoranjan Singh.

“The committee members will examine the works we have done and what are proposed to be done and submit a report to the Supreme Court,” Singh added.