NCP cries foul, says complete projects approved during former regime

Unperturbed by the Maharashtra Government's decision to scrap 95 irrigation projects which has been marred with corruption scandals, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Tuesday asked the government to complete the projects which was approved by former water resources minister Ajit Pawar.

NCP leader and former Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar allegedly cleared projects worth Rs. 20,000 crore in 2009.

Pawar had allegedly approved those projects by tweaking rules and without clearance of Governing Council of Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation (VIDC).

"The government has the right to cancel any project whichever they deem unnecessary. But our demand from the government is to complete all the irrigation projects," NCP leader Nawab Malik told ANI.

Malik further questioned the rationale behind the government's decision to allocate Rs. 18000 crore in Gose Khurd project.

"When the government saw corruption in 95 irrigated projects, then why did the government avoid the Gose Khurd project, is it because BJP MPs were the contractors of that project. I would like to remind that this is the same government which inflated the tender cost of Penganga project from 64 crores to 700 crores," he said.

The Maharashtra government today cancelled 94 irrigation projects over corruption charges. A decision to this effect was taken during a meeting of the state Cabinet.

The Maharashtra Chief Minister's office confirmed the move through Tweet.

"Maharashtra Cabinet decides to scrap around 94 irrigation project tenders in which anti-corruption bureau (ACB) has initiated probe," Tweeted CMO Maharashtra.

The BJP-Shiv Sena government had earlier scrapped nearly 128 irrigation projects with collective budget of Rs 624.28 crore, sanctioned by the previous Congress-NCP government in the last four months of its tenure.