3 lakh poison tablets placed in secretariat to kill rats: Govt

More than three lakh poison tablets were placed in the Maharashtra secretariat in May 2016 to check the rat menace, a minister said today, clarifying that it was not the number of rodents killed in the exercise.

The minister's clarification came after senior BJP leader and former Maharashtra minister Eknath Khadse had last week demanded an inquiry into the way a contract to kill rats in 'Mantralaya', or the state secretariat, was executed.

How could the company which was given the contract to kill 3,19,400 rats in Mantralaya accomplish the task in a mere seven days? Khadse had asked on March 22, while speaking in the Legislative Assembly.

Making a statement on the issue in the Lower House today, Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Chandrakant Patil said, "3,19,400 is the number of poison tablets placed in 'Mantralaya' for the eradication of rats and not the number of rats killed."
Khadse had last week said "a survey found that there were 3,19,400 rats in the secretariat. A work order was issued by the General Administration Department. The company was given six months. But it claimed to have killed them in just seven days."