Maharashtra irrigation scam: Government cancels at least 94 projects worth Rs 6,000 crore
The Nationalist Congress Party, whose leader Ajit Pawar sanctioned many of the projects, has called the move a 'politically motivated exercise'.
The Devendra Fadnavis-led Bharatiya Janata Party government in Maharashtra on Tuesday cancelled at least 94 irrigation projects in the state worth around Rs 6,000 crore, The Financial Express reported. The decision was taken after a meeting of the state’s Cabinet. The projects were cancelled because of the state Anti-Corruption Bureau’s ongoing investigation into irregularities in several of them, many of which were sanctioned by former state Water Resources Minister and Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar.
The state government has claimed the move to be part of its campaign against corruption, according to News18. However, the NCP has criticised the administration, calling the cancellations a “politically motivated exercise”. NCP leader Majid Memon accused the ACB of working for “political masters” and asked why the Fadnavis government had been quiet on the issue “for the past two years”.
Pawar, who has come under scrutiny for his alleged role in the scam, had approved projects worth Rs 20,000 crore in 2009, allegedly without seeking the clearance of the Governing Council of the Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation, according to Firstpost. The case was first reported in 2012 after then-chief engineer in the water resources department Vijay Pandhare wrote letters detailing irregularities and cost variations in the project to the state government and governor. Pawar, who resigned because of the ensuing scandal, was later re-inducted into the state Cabinet after the state government cleared him of all charges.