Kendrapada: A court in Kendrapada on Friday attached the immovable property of the rural development department’s division-II office in Kendrapada district after the officials failed to pay Rs 1.37 crore in dues to a contractor. The order came from the civil judge, senior division (commercial), after officials concerned kept ignoring for years the pending bill to a contractor. When no communication was obtained from them, the court finally issued the auction notice.A special team, acting on the order of the court, reached the office at Shyamagudia, on the outskirts of Kendrapada town, on Friday and initiated the attachment proceedings. On Thursday, a notice was pasted on the office wall. An inventory of movable assets was prepared in the presence of the petitioner’s lawyer.The attachment follows a 23-year-long legal battle over the non-payment of dues to contractor Ramesh Chandra Samantaray, a resident of Kujang Sandhapur village. During the pendency of the case, the contractor died, following which his wife and legal heirs were substituted.Samantaray had constructed two cyclone shelters at Talchua and Daleisahi under Rajnagar block in 2003 at a cost of Rs 1.07 crore. But the authorities have failed to pay the amount to him under some pleas, for which he approached the court. After hearing both parties, the court directed the rural development department to pay the amount with interest to the contractor.The seized articles will be assessed and valued before being sold, wherever required, to recover the outstanding amount, sources said. The lawyer and family members of the contractor were present during the proceedings.