CM concedes scams took place in Jalyukt Shivar scheme

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis admitted Thursday that scams did take place in the execution of his government's water conservation scheme 'Jalyukt Shivar', but said action was taken in such cases.

Replying to a discussion over the drought situation in the state in the Legislative Assembly, he said half of the state has been declared as drought-affected.

Replying to opposition's allegations of scams in the Jalyukt Shivar scheme, Fadnavis said, "This is the first scheme which has large scale public participation, and it has been successful across the state.

"Because of its huge scale, covering five lakh works, scams did take place in a few places, but we have taken action in these cases," the chief minister said.

Thanks to the scheme, farm productivity increased even after inadequate rainfall, he said.

Citing a report by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Fadnavis said the works carried out in the last two-three years under the scheme led to rise in the groundwater table.

Faced with below-75 per cent of rainfall, farmers used groundwater for farming and increased production, he claimed.

The opposition had claimed Wednesday that there was rampant corruption in drought mitigation measures as well as the Jalyukt Shivar scheme.