In a setback for former NCP leader and former Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, the Maharashtra government on Tuesday cancelled almost 300 tenders of irrigation projects worth Rs 6,000 crore due to pending investigation by the Maharashtra Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in the multi-crore irrigation scam. “It’s the government’s prerogative to cancel any project”.
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The entire scam was brought to light back in 2012 when Vijay Pandhare, the then chief engineer in the water resources department, wrote letters to the Maharashtra chief minister and governor pointing out the irregularities and cost variation in irrigation projects. The state has made a decision to cancel the contracts as per the Indian Contracts Act (1972). Speaking with mediapersons, Irrigation Minister Girish Mahajan said, “The government would issue fresh tenders for these works after the completion of ACB probe”. The percentage of irrigation potential had increased by just 0.1 percent in past ten years, despite an expenditure of Rs 70,000 crores on such projects. The project was first granted administrative approval on November 1, 2007 at a cost of Rs. 5,659.10 crore.
Mahajan said the Cabinet also gave its nod to third revised administrative approval to the Gosi-Khurd project. All these tenders were given to firms owned by the Khatri family, FA Constructions and FA Enterprises, considered to be close to the NCP.
This includes 81 various works related to Gosi-Khurd project in Vidarbha region, which has seen a massive cost escalation in last 35 years.
In December 2015, Fadnavis had ordered the ACB to probe the 14 irrigation projects where alleged financial irregularities were committed during the Congress-NCP regime. “The deadline for the Gosikhurd project is still June 2019”, Mahajan added. These include SMS Infrastructure associated with Sancheti, D Thakkar Private Limited, a firm linked to Bhangadia, RJ Shah. One sole tender is from Nashik division.
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Gosikhurd project inaugurated in 1983. This report revealed that 93 tenders of this mega project were given cost escalations arbitrarily and in violation of existing rules. Clearly it is the purgative of the state government to dismiss all those tenders, which had collusion between faulty contractors and corrupt ministers of the Conress-NCP government. Those tenders where work of less than Rs1 crore remains will be completed by the existing contractors. The cost benefit ratio was beyond permissible limits. The moves of the government, so far, hint that it can not do either.
