Probe into Maharashtra’s ₹70,000-cr irrigation scam hangs in balance

Farmers and activists in Maharashtra fear that the new alliance between the NCP faction led by Ajit Pawar and the BJP may end up burying the alleged Rs 70,000 crore irrigation scam involving senior NCP leaders, including Pawar.

The scam was exposed after the Maharashtra Economic Survey in 2012 reported that the state’s irrigation potential had increased by just 0.1 percent despite spending of Rs 70,000 crore on various projects over a decade. Later, the Maharashtra Anti-Corruption Bureau reported to the Bombay High Court about major loopholes on the part of Pawar and other government officials. Pawar, along with other NCP ministers, was in charge of the irrigation department between 1999 and 2014 under the Congress-NCP regime in Maharashtra.

During the 2014 and 2019 state elections, the BJP made the irrigation scam its main electoral mainstay, targeting Pawar directly. The irrigation scam concerned alleged corruption, cost escalation, irregularities in the approval and implementation of projects, inflated bidding, and the allocation of work to specific contractors.

irrigation policy?

Ajit Pawar, Sunil Tatkar and other NCP leaders face investigation BJP leaders had earlier tweeted that these leaders will soon land in jail. These leaders have taken up the matter with NCP chief Sharad Pawar (who is also Ajit’s uncle) and demanded The party is in cooperation with the BJP. But (Sharad) Pawar refused because he wants to play a major role in the anti-BJP coalition that is forming in the centre,” said a close aide of Ajit Pawar. Business line.

While activists are fighting cases related to fraud and filing of PILs in the courts, the role of the state and union governments is vital to any progress in the investigation. While BJP leaders have remained silent on the issue, activists claim that Ajit Pawar and other NCP leaders have teamed up with the BJP for a specific purpose. Activist Vishwapar Chowdhury said in a social media post that in the coming year, Pawar and other NCP leaders will look for a clean loophole in all cases and “put an end to ED fear”.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis recently spoke to the BJP and other leaders in Mumbai to address this concern. The BJP cadre in the state is unhappy with the NCP faction’s cooperation with the party. Fadnavis reportedly said that the party followed the orders of the higher leadership and that everyone should work to ensure that the BJP gets the maximum number of Lok Sabha seats in the upcoming elections.

worried farmers

In Maharashtra, about 20 percent of arable land is irrigated, while the rest depends on monsoon rains, even with the rains delayed by a few days, disrupting the agricultural cycle.

Raju Hing, who owns agricultural land in Pune, says farmers in the state have suffered greatly due to incomplete and overdue irrigation projects. He said Maharashtra is at the forefront of farmer suicides, with lack of irrigation facilities and dependence on monsoons driving many farmers into distress.