Opposition demands third-party audit of expressway project

Mumbai-Nagpur e-way planned by controversial IAS officer Radheshyam Mopalwar

Mumbai: Days after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis removed IAS officer Radheshyam Mopalwar as chairman of the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), a farmer’s body has demanded a third-party feasibility audit of the Mumbai-Nagpur super expressway project, which was finalised and mapped by a team led by Mr. Mopalwar, who was in charge of the CM’s pet project.

Baban Harne, Convener, Shetkari Sangharsh Samiti. said, “Radheshyam Mopalwar finalised the alignment of this project. Our repeated warnings that he has ensured profits through the road’s alignment were ignored by the government. Now the controversy surrounding him is out in the open and an inquiry will be conducted into his activities. It will only be apt for the government to conduct a third-party audit of this project.”

In December 2016,

The Hindu had reported on a complaint received by the Chief Minister’s Office alleging that a cartel of civil servants had purchased hundreds of acres of land in alignment with the proposed super expressway. Recently, the Revenue Department too received a similar complaint, which is being probed. “In my complaint to the Revenue Secretary, I mentioned how this road’s alignment has been influenced by a government officers’ lobby. Many of them have bought land along this expressway, and Mr. Mopalwar was the final authority in deciding the alignment,” Mr. Harne said.

Farmer leader and Lok Sabha MP Raju Shetty, a BJP ally, supported the demand saying the expressway will benefit a select few while harming farmers’ interests. “A third-party audit of the project must be done, especially in the present context,” he said.

Mr Harne’s demand found support from the Opposition. Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said, “We’ve been saying from the beginning that the extra push for this project is suspicious. Officers from CMO are involved in this. This project must be audited by a reputed private institution.”