Probe ordered against VIDC officials: Chavan

With the controversy over Maharashtra irrigation projects simmerings, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan has ordered a departmental probe against 45 officials of Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation (VIDC), who were indicted by a panel in 2010 for irregularities. The departmental inquiry had been pending for two years following the Vadnere committee report.

Chavan, who was in Thane on Sunday, said that he had approved the probe while denying that there was a delay. On why it took so much time to act on the report, he said the government had to conduct its own inquiry and later arrive at the conclusion of ordering a probe and added that this process takes time.

The engineers, including VIDC's former chief executive director D P Shirke, will now face probe on several counts including turning a blind eye to government norms while clearing cost escalations and not following tender rules.