ACB exonerates Ajit Pawar in Vidarbha irrigation scam

Maharashtra's Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has given a clean chit to NCP leader and former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar in the multi-crore Vidarbha irrigation scam.

The ACB, in its affidavit submitted in the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court, has ruled out Pawar's involvement in cases of alleged irregularities in approval and commissioning of irrigation projects in the Vidarbha region.

The affidavit was submitted on November 27, a day before the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government of the Shiv Sena -NCP-Congress was sworn-in the state on November 28.

The court had asked the ACB to clarify its stand on the role of Pawar, a former Water Resources Development Minister, in these cases.

Pawar, the NCP MLA from Baramati in Pune district, was Water Resources Development Minister during 1999-2009 when the Congress-NCP combine was in power in Maharashtra.

Pawar had also served as chairman of Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation (VIDC), which had cleared irrigation projects in which irregularities were alleged.

The ACB is inquiring into a total of 2,654 tenders related to 45 projects of VIDC as per two PILs filed in 2012 before the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court.

On November 25, the anti-graft agency had said it has closed probe in nine cases of alleged corruption in irrigation projects, but clarified none of them was linked to Pawar.

"These enquiries were closed as no criminal offence was made out after enquiry against anyone. None of these nine enquiries was in respect to Ajit Pawar, the then chairman of VIDC," the ACB had said.

About the November 27 affidavit, a senior ACB official said the court had asked the agency to submit a 'status report' on the VIDC scam before November 28.

"We have not closed inquiry into the VIDC cases. In some cases we have filed chargesheets and investigation is also going on. Similarly, investigation into FIRs related to these cases are also going on.

"We have submitted the status report on investigation going on into tenders that were issued (by VIDC)," he said.

He said the HC had askedthe ACB to submit a report on the PIL filed by one Atul Jagtap concerning award of tenders in an irrigation project in Amravati. Pawar was named a respondent in this PIL.

"Concerning this we had, in our previous affidavit, written that we have referred this matter to the government for opinion.

"Now, we have got opinion from the government that Ajit Pawar was not involved in it (the scam) and this we have communicated to the court a few days back.

"Besides, Ajit Pawar was never an accused in any of our cases and investigation into Vidarbha irrigation tender cases are still on," the ACB official said.

The scam, pegged at around Rs 70,000 crore, related to alleged corruption, cost escalations and irregularities in approval and execution of various irrigation projects during the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) rule.

The allegations on Pawar included claims that he awarded projects at inflated prices.

Last month, Pawar had rebelled and joined hands with the BJP to form a short-lived government in Maharashtra where he was deputy chief minister for just three days. He later resigned and returned to the NCP fold.