Oppn slams Maha govt for reinstating Mopalwar as MD of MSRDC

Opposition Congress and NCP today criticised the Maharashtra government for reinstating IAS officer Radheshyam Mopalwar as the managing director of the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC).
Mopalwar, who was sent on leave in August last year over allegations of corruption, was reinstated as the MD of the MSRDC in December.
Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, who raised the issue in the House today, demanded that the reinstatement be revoked.
"The decision casts aspersions on the functioning of the government. How can a bureaucrat accused of corruption and irregularities be reinstated in the same post, which he had earlier held?" he asked.

Congress leader and former Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said the probe committee's report into Mopalwar's alleged corruption was not tabled in the Legislature.
"The allegations against Mopalwar about amassing wealth disproportionate to his income should be probedby the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB)," he said.

Chavan said Mopalwar's reinstatement gives an impression that the government cannot function without him.
They demanded that the discussion on the issue be taken up through an adjournment notice, which was rejected by the Assembly Speaker.
Mopalwar was removed from the post after the audio clips, in which he was allegedly heard fixing a deal for a piece of land in suburban Borivali, came to light.

An inquiry committee headed by former Chief Secretary Johnny Joseph was set up by the government after the Opposition raised the issue.
The relief for the senior bureaucrat came after probe committee found that the audio clips may have been tampered with. The committee gave him a clean chit saying the allegations against him cannot be proved.