Congress alleges ₹304.24 cr scam in Goa, calls BJP 'cabal of Mini-Adanis'

Congress leader Pawan Khera also slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's anti-corruption stance, stating that his government in Goa contradicts his claims of fighting corruption

 

The Congress party has accused the BJP-led Goa government of a ₹304.24 crore scam, alleging that public funds were misused through contracts awarded without competitive bidding. 

 

Congress leader Pawan Khera, party's chairman of Media & Publicity, issued a statement on Saturday (March 22), calling the BJP a “cabal of Mini-Adanis” and claiming that the party was systematically favouring select private players in government projects. 

 

Khera also slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s anti-corruption stance, stating that his government in Goa contradicts his claims of fighting corruption. “PM Modi’s so-called ‘Fight against Corruption’ is actually a ‘Fight for the Corrupt,’” said the press statement while adding that the Goa government has violated procurement rules and the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) guidelines.  

 

Allegations of favouritism

 

The Congress statement highlights several instances where contracts were allegedly handed out without due process:  

 

- A ₹47.18 crore Smart Water Supply IoT Project under the Jal Jeevan Mission was awarded without an open bidding process.  

- The Public Works Department (PWD) allegedly sanctioned ₹148.66 crore worth of road works without competitive bidding. This included a ₹32.16 crore road reinstatement project and a ₹5.25 crore road widening project in Bicholim, both approved retroactively.  

- A ₹32.14 crore power infrastructure improvement scheme in Siolim was allegedly split into four smaller contracts to evade higher-level scrutiny.  

- A ₹9.17 crore highway consultancy contract was allegedly awarded without using the mandatory Quality and Cost-Based Selection (QCBS) process.  

- A ₹4.56 crore animal feed procurement deal was allegedly handed to a Maharashtra-based PSU without following Government e-Marketplace (GeM) norms.  

- A ₹13.22 crore “Vikasit Bharat” event in Margao was allegedly executed without formal administrative approval before the expenditure was incurred. Similarly, the Goa CSR Conclave 2023 (₹2.78 crore) was allegedly approved only after its completion.  

- Expenses incurred during PM Modi’s visit to Goa on April 27, 2024, amounting to ₹1.37 crore, were approved only after the event took place, despite sufficient time to seek necessary clearances.  

 

'Fragmentation' of projects to bypass regulations  

 

The Congress alleged that several large-scale projects were deliberately divided into smaller contracts to circumvent financial thresholds requiring higher-level approvals. For instance:  

 

- The Cuncolim fire station construction project was allegedly broken into at least five contracts under ₹50 lakh each, although the total project cost exceeded ₹1 crore.  

- A ₹0.78 crore contract for live streaming government events was allegedly extended to Asian Films without fresh bidding.  

 

Congress questions PM Modi’s 'silence'

 

The Congress has posed three direct questions to the BJP:  

 

1. Why has the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which has registered 193 cases against politicians nationwide, not investigated any financial irregularities in Goa? 

2. Why is PM Modi, who speaks of fighting corruption in his PR campaigns, ignoring the large-scale corruption under CM Pramod Sawant’s government?

3. Is the BJP-led Goa government intentionally fostering a network of “Mini-Adanis” by repeatedly awarding government contracts to a select group of businesses?

 

Cong vs BJP: Political fallout 

The Congress has claimed that corruption is rampant in Goa, facilitated by political patronage. So far, the BJP has not officially responded to the allegations.