Balganga project report was prepared 'out of the blue': ACB

Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) DYSP Sunil Kalgutkar, who is the investigating officer of the multi-crore rupee Balganga Dam project case, told a special court here today that the detailed project report was prepared "out of the blue", without any supporting papers.
He made this submission before special judge V V Bambarde and sought seven additional days of police custodial remand of arrested Konkan Irrigation Development Corporation's (KIDC) Superintending Engineer Rajesh Rithe.
In his submission, Kalgutkar presented the case diary relating to the progress of the inquiry carried out so far, enabled by the custody of the two accused, namely Rithe and contractor Nissar Khatri, whose company constructed the Balganga Dam in Raigad district.

The investigating officer said that there is documentary evidence that the accused prepared the detailed project report of the project and fabricated records without any sanction of work carried out on the dam by contractors, right from the beginning.
The cost of the dam was exaggerated and later, it was hiked to around Rs 1,200 crore and around Rs 250 crore changed hands which benefitted public servants, the investigating officer said.
All guidelines laid down by the government for similar projects were totally flouted and the investigating agency needs to go to the root of the fraud, he said.

He told the court that the accused has not been co-operating with the investigating agency at all and that not a single record relating to the Balganga dam project on which the so-called detailed project report was prepared has been produced by him so far.

The investigating officer submitted to the court a detailed list for the disbursal of Rs 250 crore in the deal.
He said that the investigating agency is yet to find out who all were involved in the entire case, what are their roles and the extent to which they benefitted.