A day after the Special Investigation Team submitted its report on Maharashtra’s alleged multi-crore irrigation scam, its chief Madhav Chitale said the probe had found cases of unjustified cost escalations in several projects.
“We have given a detailed analysis of several irrigation projects across the State. There have been cases of cost escalations. They were justified in some cases and unjustified in others. This is not limited to any particular region in Maharashtra,” Mr. Chitale, a water management expert and former union secretary, told The-Hindu . “In some cases, the scope of the project changed after it commenced. Sometimes there were changes in the parameters of the dam or length of the canal.”
When asked whether the probe had pinned the blame on any specific Minister or bureaucrat, Mr Chitale said the report did not name individuals. “Rather, it names the post which is responsible.”
The Chitale Committee was appointed in 2012 after allegations of major irregularities in the irrigation department which was headed by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar between 1999 and 2009. Mr. Pawar, who belongs to the Nationalist Congress Party, had resigned in September 2012 after media reports exposed malpractices in the department. The media alleged massive cost escalations and claimed many projects were hurriedly cleared and had not generated much by way of irrigation potential.
However, Mr. Pawar was reappointed less than three months later after the irrigation department presented a “white paper” which exonerated the political leadership. This sparked concerns that the Chitale Committee, too, will go easy on the government. Unlike a judicial inquiry, the SIT was not given investigative powers. It had no mandate to question bureaucrats or politicians.
The white paper had countered crucial data on the lack of irrigation potential developed in the State. According to the State’s own economic survey, only 0.1 per cent irrigation potential was generated between 2001 and 2010. However, the white paper said the irrigation potential generated was 5.17 per cent and there was a 28 per cent growth in irrigated land.
