The Maharashtra Home Department on Thursday gave its nod to an Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) probe into the role 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.
Activist Pravin Wategaonkar in his letter to the Home Department, had named several people, including the two NCP leaders who were in charge of the Water Resources Department when the contracts were awarded to a select group in alleged violation of norms.
“Prima facie, the evidence submitted to 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),” a senior Home Department official said. “We feel that a thorough probe needs to be conducted… But a final call needs to be taken by the Chief Minister.”
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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 the KIDC and the Water Resources Department. The alleged scam surfaced after the Economic Survey observed that the irrigation potential of the State had increased by only 0.1 per cent, even though Rs. 70,000 crore had been spent on various projects in the last decade. The allegation forced Mr. 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 Madhav Chitale to probe the alleged irregularities.