Odisha govt orders special audit of procurement, customisation of ‘Thar’ vehicles for forest staff

Bhubaneswar: The state government has ordered a special audit of the procurement and customization of Mahindra Thar vehicles for the field staff of Forest Department in Odisha.

The state government has asked the Accountant General (Audit-II), Odisha, to conduct a special on the process of procurement and customisation of Thar vehicles by the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) during 2024-25 financial year.

The government asked the Accountant General to depute a team to conduct the special audit.

As per reports, the PCCF (Wildlife), Odisha, had procured altogether 51 Thar vehicles for Rs 7.1 crore for the field staff of the Forest Department in November, 2024. The vehicles were later customized with an expenditure of Rs 5 crore.

These all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) have been deployed in 22 wildlife divisions across Odisha. The highest number of nine vehicles have been deployed at Similipal Tiger Reserve in Mayurbhanj district, reports added.

The vehicles were customized to make them suitable for faster patrolling and surveillance as well as for fighting forest fires, claimed reports.