Irrigation scam: 4 engineers suspended

Maharashtra government has suspended four engineers responsible for financial irregularities in the Kondane irrigation project in Raigad district.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis gave the approval to carry out suspension of four officials: Superintendent Engineer Dagdu Shinde, Assistant Engineer Chandrakant Rithe, Executive engineer Giriraj Kishanrao Joshi and Sub-Divisional Engineer (SDE) Vijay Raghunath Kasat, Minister for Irrigation, Girish Mahajan said.
The suspension comes in the wake of a departmental probe that held the engineers guilty of flouting various norms laid for implementing the Rs 327-crore project, Mahajan told reporters.
The Kondane irrigation project in the Konkan region was executed during the tenure of former Water Resources Minister Sunil Tatkare of the NCP.

Primary charges against these officials relate to cost escalation of the project from Rs 80.35 crore to Rs 327.62 crore and the decision to raise the dam height to 32.30 meters without seeking approval from the competent financial authorities.
Fadnavis has been maintaining both in and out the House that the government will not spare anybody guilty of graft.

All the decisions would be taken only after ascertaining the facts, he had assured.
On December 12, Fadnavis had given a go-ahead to an ACB probe against former Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and Tatkare for alleged corruption in the irrigation scam.

Former PWD minister Chhagan Bhujbal is also facing a probe for alleged "corruption and favouritism" in construction of Maharashtra Sadan in New Delhi and two other government buildings in Mumbai built under Private Public Partnership.