Irrigation Scam : Vest investigators with effective powers

Mumbai: The special investigation team appointed to probe the irrigation scam will be ineffective if it is not invested with sweeping powers to question ministers, bureaucrats and contractors allegedly involved in the multi-crore swindle.

By most accounts, almost half the Rs 70,000 crore spent on irrigation projects over the past decade may have been siphoned off or wasted on dud projects.

TOI presents its wish list on how the SIT should work and what it should go after:

• Investigate irregularities and criminal conspiracy, including roles of ministers, officers and contractors
• Estimates for every tender above Rs 1 crore must be thoroughly probed. Compare rates given for major tenders (Rs 50 crore) with smaller tenders (Rs 10 crore) for discrepancies
• Investigate if costs of estimates were updated or increased as per department schedule rates (price levels) and laid-down rules
• Analyse estimates for works awarded without calling tenders and their legality
• Probe transportation lead rates paid by irrigation corporations for various projects
• Investigate projects where, in violation of well-established principles and various circulars, market rates were used to update costs of tenders. Also examine steps taken to recover extra sum paid to contractors
• Verify if contractors for every tender above Rs 1 crore satisfied enough criteria. 
• Check if due process was followed in awarding contracts
• Find irrigation potential planned, declared and achieved year-wise and project-wise
• Ascertain actual irrigation planned, declared and created year-wise and project-wise
• Conduct physical audit of actual land irrigated and irrigation potential created
• Compare rates of various irrigation corporations in the last ten years and focus on the variance. Particularly rates of pipes for lift irrigation schemes, hearting, casing, concrete and tunnel excavation
• Investigate in every corporation details of advances paid to various contractors along with rate of interest charged and interest waived
• Inquire into details of claims and idle charges paid to contractors and the reasons
• Probe details of total tenders called annually by various irrigation corporations and compare them to budgetary provisions and funds provision
• Examine diversion of funds from one region to another, one district to another, one project to another, names of authorising authorities, and whether sanctions were sought from the state governor
• Seek details of where project costs increased due to disregard of mandatory designs, particularly lift irrigation schemes in Vidarbha
• Probe works that should have been executed by mechanical/electrical body of the state but, instead, tenders were awarded by civil organisations
• Calculate average rate at which tenders were quoted
• Find details of number of tenders allotted in past decade and their status. Investigate if tenders convened under e-tender system were foolproof
• Examine Vadnere committee report, Mendhegiri report, M K Kulkarni report, Kolawale report and departmental enquiries; suggest criminal action
• Suggest steps to recover financial loss incurred to the state due to irregularities
• Examine contractors who were awarded tenders of over Rs 50 crore in a single project
• Check bank accounts of contractors for money laundering.

CM rejects printing error argument
Nagpur: CM Prithviraj Chavan on Monday dismissed R R Patil’s claim that a printing error was behind the assertion in the state economic survey 2010-11 that the irrigation potential has increased by only 0.1%. TNN
Courtesy:
Nauzer K Bharucha | TNN

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIM/2012/12/18&PageLabel=4&EntityId=Ar00402&ViewMode=HTML