Mumbai: Two days after he joined Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s Devendra Fadnavis to form a government in Maharashtra, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Monday closed nine cases related to the Rs 70,000 crore irrigation scam in which Ajit Pawar is an accused.
Pawar was the water resources minister for nearly a decade from 1999 and had allegedly cleared cost escalations of 32 irrigation projects by more than Rs17,000 crore. Following allegations, Pawar quit the cabinet only to return within three months.
The ACB though insisted that there was no connection between Ajit Pawar taking oath as deputy chief minister and the closing of the corruption cases.
Parambir Singh, director general of Anti-Corruption Bureau, said, “None of the cases that were closed today are related to Ajit Pawar.”
ACB officials said that these are routine complaints filed by local farmers, and NGOs, and the closed investigation files are not among the 20 FIRs filed into the scam.
ACB officials said that in a scam of such massive proportion where so many FIRs have been filed, a mere order cannot close the entire investigation. “We can close the FIRs only by moving the court,” said an ACB official.Also Watch l Ajit Pawar joins hands with BJP: What NCP, Sena & Congress said
“No wonder, the only decision taken in ‘public interest’ by BJP-Ajit Pawar is to close all cases of corruption & malfeasance. The BJP way of probity in public life,” tweeted Randeep Singh Surjewala.
On Monday, additional director general of police (ACB) Bipin Kumar Singh in a ‘confidential’ letter to the superintendent of ACB Amravati ordered to close nine open enquiries in the complaints filed in connection with irrigation Scam. These complaints were filed with ACB in nine irrigation projects at Washim, Yavatmal, Amravati, and Buldhana.
An ACB source said that around 3000 tenders were under investigation in the ACB’s probe in the irrigation scam. Due to lack of evidence no case was made out in many of the cases.
On November 28, the ACB had to show progress in multiple other cases. Hence closure report in some routine case has been filed and it will be submitted in the High Court, ACB officials added.
The irrigation scam came out in 2012 where it was revealed that even after spending Rs 42,500 crore for a decade, the state had brought only 0.1% of the targeted land under irrigation. It was revealed that a nexus of contractors, officials and politicians had milked thousands of crores meant for irrigation projects. The NCP, which had controlled the department, and Pawar had come under the scanner.
Pawar was the water resources minister for nearly a decade from 1999 and had allegedly cleared cost escalations of 32 irrigation projects by more than Rs17,000 crore. Following allegations, Pawar quit the cabinet only to return within three months.