Devendra Fadnavis opens NCP Scamgate; gives go-ahead for inquiry against 3 NCP leaders

The Fadnavis government has given the go-ahead to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) for an open inquiry against former Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leaders Ajit Pawar, Chhagan Bhujbal and Sunil Tatkare on various corruption charges.

The probe against Pawar and state NCP president Sunil Tatkare revolved around alleged irregularities in the execution of various irrigation projects during their tenure as Water Resource Ministers.

The ACB had proposed open inquiries against Pawar and Tatkare in the irrigation scam, and Bhujbal in the scam involving the construction of the Maharashtra Sadan in New Delhi and two government buildings in Mumbai, built under the Public-Private Partnership. The government also ordered probe against some irrigation department officials and contractors.

Fadnavis told mediapersons that though the government informed the court about the inquiries only on Friday, it has cleared the files last month itself. Advocate General Sunil Manohar informed the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court of the government decision on Friday. 

"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 of the Bombay High Court.

Manohar said Fadnavis had asked the ACB to go ahead with the probe against the three top NCP leaders in the alleged scams in which several thousand crores of rupees were suspected to be siphoned off with the connivance of greedy contractors and pliant officials.

A division bench of the court comprising Justices Bhushan Gavai and V M Deshpande recorded his statement and disposed of PILs demanding investigation.

An NGO from Nagpur, Jan Manch, has filed a writ petition before the court, and another one was filed by three social workers – Bharati Dabholkar, Mohan Koremore and Amit Khot. The Bench disposed of the petitions on
Friday.

The Jan Manch has been instrumental in taking up issues of public interest in Nagpur and Vidarbha areas. It approached the High Court with a contention that the cost of 38 irrigation projects in Vidarbha had escalated by Rs 20,000 crore in seven months.

It also alleged that Rs 1 lakh crore meant for Vidarbha projects were diverted to Western Maharashtra in the last one decade. The three social workers had petitioned the court that the cost of irrigation projects had escalated by more than 200% and held the government responsible. They demanded a probe into the same.

Former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan had appointed a one-man committee, headed by internationally acclaimed water expert Madhavrao Chitale, after allegations of a Rs 70,000 crore irrigation scam.

Manohar said Fadnavis had asked the ACB to go ahead with the probe against the three top NCP leaders in the alleged scams in which several thousand crores of rupees were suspected to be siphoned off with the connivance of greedy contractors and pliant officials. (With inputs from PTI)