Mumbai: Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan’s decision to set up an SIT to probe the alleged Rs 70,000-crore scam in the NCP-controlled water resources department is being seen as an attempt to pacify the saffron combine.
Leader of opposition Eknath Khadse said Chavan had done a balancing act by setting up a committee headed by water resources expert Madhav Chitale. On one hand, he had no other option but to set up the panel and on the other, the NCP made it clear to him that he must form a committee that would not harm Ajit Pawar, he said. “Five PILs have been pending in the HC and in all of them, the allegations are similar. It has been established that there was abuse of power and rampant irregularities in the allotment of contracts. The probe should be monitored by the court, we will approach the judiciary,” Khadse said.
In March when Khadse had said the dismal performance of the water resources department should be probed, Chavan had said his government would come up with a white paper on the irrigation projects’ status. After TOI exposed the alleged scam, Ajit Pawar, who controlled the department, quit the cabinet, saying he would not return unless he got a clean chit. In less than three months, he was back after he was given a clean chit in the white paper drafted by his department.
Khadse has been demanding a judicial probe or an examination by an SIT that will submit its report to the HC. Chavan reportedly wanted a judicial probe, but the proposal was rejected by the NCP. Finally the Congress and NCP arrived at a compromise and decided to set up an SIT that will take instructions from water resources minister Sunil Tatkare, who is also under the lens for alleged graft. “The SIT will report to a cabinet member who is under scrutiny,” Khadse said.
Times View: At stake is the govt’s credibility
The government does not seem to be too keen to get to the bottom of the alleged multi-crore scam. This is understandable at one level – neither the Congress nor the NCP wants to rock the coalition boat – but it’s come at ahuge cost; the decision to set up an SIT that apparently does not have too much power has put the credibility of the government at stake. The government may gloss over these issues in the legislature but answering questions in court will be much tougher.
Courtesy:
Prafulla Marpakwar TNN
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIM/2012/12/19&PageLabel=7&EntityId=Ar00703&ViewMode=HTML
Leader of opposition Eknath Khadse said Chavan had done a balancing act by setting up a committee headed by water resources expert Madhav Chitale. On one hand, he had no other option but to set up the panel and on the other, the NCP made it clear to him that he must form a committee that would not harm Ajit Pawar, he said. “Five PILs have been pending in the HC and in all of them, the allegations are similar. It has been established that there was abuse of power and rampant irregularities in the allotment of contracts. The probe should be monitored by the court, we will approach the judiciary,” Khadse said.
In March when Khadse had said the dismal performance of the water resources department should be probed, Chavan had said his government would come up with a white paper on the irrigation projects’ status. After TOI exposed the alleged scam, Ajit Pawar, who controlled the department, quit the cabinet, saying he would not return unless he got a clean chit. In less than three months, he was back after he was given a clean chit in the white paper drafted by his department.
Khadse has been demanding a judicial probe or an examination by an SIT that will submit its report to the HC. Chavan reportedly wanted a judicial probe, but the proposal was rejected by the NCP. Finally the Congress and NCP arrived at a compromise and decided to set up an SIT that will take instructions from water resources minister Sunil Tatkare, who is also under the lens for alleged graft. “The SIT will report to a cabinet member who is under scrutiny,” Khadse said.
Times View: At stake is the govt’s credibility
The government does not seem to be too keen to get to the bottom of the alleged multi-crore scam. This is understandable at one level – neither the Congress nor the NCP wants to rock the coalition boat – but it’s come at ahuge cost; the decision to set up an SIT that apparently does not have too much power has put the credibility of the government at stake. The government may gloss over these issues in the legislature but answering questions in court will be much tougher.
Courtesy:
Prafulla Marpakwar TNN
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIM/2012/12/19&PageLabel=7&EntityId=Ar00703&ViewMode=HTML
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