Nagpur: The state government has given permission to the state Anti Corruption Bureau to conduct an open enquiry into allegations of corruption against former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and former NCP ministers Sunil Tatkare and Chhagan Bhujbal.
This has been stated in an affidavit filed by the state government before the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court. The ACB had asked for the permission while the state was under President’s rule, which the government has given now, a senior home ministry official told the FPJ.
Pawar and Tatkare are facing charges in the irrigation scam while Bhujbal has been blamed for irregularities in the construction of ‘Maharashtra Sadan’ in Delhi and two other buildings in Mumbai. Irrigation projects worth thousands of crores were cleared during Pawar and Tatkare’s tenures as Water Resource Minister.
Media reports have alleged that Pawar, who was Water Resource Minister for a decade between 1999 and 2009, had cleared 38 projects worth Rs 20,000 crore in 2009 without clearance of the Governing Council of Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation.
Chagan, a senior OBC leader, was the PWD minister when the government had inked an agreement with a contractor for building three structures — the Maharashtra Sadan (the state’s official guest house in Delhi), another state guest house (High Mount) at Malabar Hill, and a new administrative building and residential quarters for the Regional Transport Office at Andheri — on a PPP basis.
Bhujbal has been accused of misusing his official position in awarding the contract for Maharashtra Sadan to an associate not known to be a contractor capable of executing such projects. The cost of the project had also reportedly escalated several times over original estimates.
Also in the loop of the probe would be irrigation department officials and contractors responsible for the alleged irregularities. Social activists have pegged the alleged corruption in the irrigation scam at over Rs.70000 crore.
The ACB has sought permission to look into the files related to these ministers, but it could not be ascertained as to when exactly the enquiry will begin and how would it be conducted. The affidavit filed in the court, too, merely states that the permission has been given but has nothing in it about when and how it would be conducted.
“I have been authorised by Chief Minister of Maharashtra to state that he has cleared open inquiries by ACB against Ajit Pawar, Sunil Tatkare and Chhagan Bhujbal,” Advocate General Sunil Manohar told the Nagpur bench on Friday.
A division bench of Justice Bhushan Gavai and Justice V M Deshpande recorded his statement and disposed of PILs demanding an investigation. “When bigwigs are being probed along with officials and contractors, there is no point in keeping these petitions pending,” the court observed, while making it clear that petitioners can always approach it again, if they are not satisfied with the inquiry.
All the three ministers belong to the Nationalist Congress Party and are very senior leaders of the party. An inquiry against all the three top leaders might weaken the already frail party in both the houses of the legislature. Pawar and Bhujbal are members of the lower house while Tatkare is leader of the party in the upper house.
While speaking to reporters about the affidavit, the state unit president of NCP Sunil Tatkare said that they are open to any kind of enquiry. “We have done no wrong. We shall face any kind of enquiry,” he said. Ajit Pawar avoided commenting on the decision saying that the government is free to do whatever it wants. “It’s their government and they are free to do what they want. They had said this before the elections and now they are doing it,” Pawar told the media.
The thrust of the BJP election campaign had been the corruption charges against NCP ministers. But, after coming to power, the NCP offered unilateral support to the BJP, due to which questions were raised over BJP’s stand on corruption. After the Shiv Sena joined the government, within 8 days the affidavit was filed.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Fadnavis has said that he had given the permission about a fortnight back. Former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan expressed satisfaction over the development. “The process in this regard had been initiated by my government. But the file moved very slowly. It reached me very late. And just when it reached me, the government was toppled,” he told reporters.
Pawar had resigned as Deputy Chief Minister in September 2012 after Chavan’s announcement to table a white paper on the alleged irrigation scam. However, Pawar had returned as Deputy CM in the first week of December after he was given a ‘clean chit’ in the ‘white paper’. — Input PTI
