Nod for probe against Ajit Pawar, Tatkare

ACB will look into the NCP leaders’ role, if any, in the multi-crore irrigation scam

September 20, 2014 01:01 am | Updated November 16, 2021 06:54 pm IST - MUMBAI:

Ajit Pawar

Ajit Pawar

The Maharashtra home department on Thursday gave its nod to the sanction sought by its Anti Corruption of Bureau (ACB) to probe the alleged roles of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, State NCP chief Sunil Tatkare and officials from the Konkan Irrigation Development Corporation (KIDC) in the multi-crore irrigation scam, a senior official from the state home department told The Hindu. The development gains significance as it comes just a month before the state goes to polls.

“The file has now been forwarded to the Chief Secretary’s office who will in turn send it for the final approval to the Chief Minister,” a senior state home department official told The Hindu .

Last month the agency had written to the government seeking sanction to conduct an open inquiry into the alleged irregularities in the multi-crore irrigation scam. This came activist, Mr. Pravin Wategaonkar wrote to the department alleging that the tenders in the irrigation projects were awarded arbitrarily.

In his complaint the activist named several people including the two NCP leaders who were in charge of the water resources department when the contracts were allegedly awarded to a select group, in alleged violation of norms.

“Prima facie the evidence submitted by the department merits an inquiry. The complainant has incorporated the findings of the Chitale committee and the report prepared by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). We feel that a through probe needs to be conducted so we have granted the sanction. But a final call needs to be taken by the Chief Minister,” the home department official said.

In its 2011 report the CAG, had pointed out several irregularities in the irrigation projects undertaken by state government in the last decade. The auditor had based his observations on the information given by KIDC and the Water Resources Department

The scam was unearthed after the Economic Survey’s observation that the irrigation potential of the state had increased by only 0.1 percent even though Rs 70,000 crore had been spent on various projects in the last decade.

The allegation forced Mr. Ajit Pawar, who also held the water resources portfolio to step down briefly in September, 2012. Subsequently the government constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by water expert Mr. Madhav Chitale to probe the alleged irregularities. In March this year, the committee submitted its 13,000 page report to the government.

The committee however refrained from naming any politician, but stated that the members and the chairman of the governing council of the Irrigation Development Corporation (IDC) should be held responsible for violation of norms and financial irregularities while granting sanctions to irrigation projects. Mr. Pawar was the chairman of the IDC’s governing council during the relevant period and also water resources minister between 1999 and 2009 and after that Mr.Tatkare was the water resources minister.

The state government however gave a clean chit to Mr. Pawar, when it tabled the report of the Madhav Chitale committee in the state Assembly. It however, promised action against the officials and engineers found responsible for the financial and administrative lapses in irrigation projects across Maharashtra.

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