Gadkari’s co took loan of Rs 39.50 cr on sugar mill land bought at Rs 14.10 cr

In the light of recent allegation by social activist Medha Patkar about the sale of sick sugar mills in Maharashtra to politicians at throwaway prices, a major sell out at dirt cheap prices cropped up in Bhandara district. The sick sugar mill Wainganga Sahkari Sakhar Karkhana along with government leased 66.53 hectares of land which was mortgaged to Maharashtra State Co-operative Bank (MSCB) was sold for a consideration of just Rs 14.10 crores whereas the current value of the land stands at somewhere around Rs 300 crores.

The said sugar mill and the land is located at mouza Narsinghtola in Mohadi tehsil of Bhandara district.  And the sale was done in favour of none other than Wainganga Sugar and Power Limited, a part of Purti Group owned by former BJP leader Nitin Gadkari. It is learnt that the said land along with movable and immovable properties is now mortgaged with Bank of India’s corporate branch in Nagpur for Rs 39.50 crores.

Talking to Nagpur Today on phone, Medha Patkar said that it is a matter of detailed inquiry to find out how the privatization of cooperative sector has happened. “Suprisingly, Gadkari’s Purti Group bought two separate sugar mills and land at similar price of Rs 14.10 crore. Similar pattern of fraud was followed in this deal as was done in case of Chhagan Bhujbal’s buying a sick unit in Malegaon, Ajit Pawar in Aurangabad and Amit Deshmukh who bought Priyadarshini mill,” she added.

Patkar said that it should be investigated properly how such loss making mills were permitted and whopping loans accumulated on it later on. “Why bank provided such heavy loan amount to these units. It seems it was a ploy to first seize the sick unit and then committing fraud in selling those out at dirt cheap rates. Even no proper bidding was done in the process. The dues of Rs 800 crores of the workers from 40 such factories are still not paid. Even the permission of farmers was not taken before moving ahead with the deal. This is clear violation of Cooperative Act,” she said.

However much murkier was the picture even before the said sugar mill and the land in Bhandara came into the hands of Purti Group. Bhandara district administration which originally owned this 66.53 hectares of land had leased it out to the erstwhile Wainganga Sahkari Sakhar Karkhana on December 22, 1986, which further mortgaged it to Maharashtra State Co-operative Bank for want of loan. When the loan payment was defaulted the bank put up the land for sale.

Later, the land was cannily sold under the much low profile deal with Vidarbha Realties Private Limited, the rechristened Wainganga Sugar and Power Limited which became a part of Purti group. The deal was sealed on March 8, 2010, when the value of land was not less than Rs 100 crore but it was sold at Rs 14.10 crores only. This was the deliberate ploy to ultimately bring the land to the ownership of Gadkari, a source added.

Liability of Rs 3 crore only!!
Bhandara district collector had earlier fixed the liability of Rs 3 crore as unearned income on Wainganga Sugar and Power Limited for overlooking revenue norms but later shifted the same to MSCB on the appeal by Wainganga to the Divisional Commissioner. However what went unnoticed, or deliberately kept under the wraps, was the petty price of Rs 14.10 crore given for such a whopping piece of land comprising sugar mill and additional 66.53 hectares of open land leased by the government.

Rajesh Pugalia, Nagpur district Secretary of Aam Aadmi Party said, “An independent inquiry should be conducted under Supreme Court. We do not believe in CBI inquiry as it is running at the hands of Congress which is backing Gadkari in Nagpur. It is not just the question of defaulting on liability of Rs 3 crore but it’s a scam which runs in hundreds of crore.

A detailed inquiry should be conducted to find out what amount of loan was pending on Wainganga Sahkari Sakhar Karkhana at the time of its auction. The timing of the deal should also be taken into consideration as there is some political interest linked to it, Pugalia claimed.

Patkar too demanded judicial probe into more such deals of sick sugar units. “The chief minister said that inquiry is on but it is being conducted by ministry. How can you expect ministry to conduct an impartial probe. We want judicial probe into the matter,” Patkar told Nagpur Today.
Courtesy:
Published On: Sun, Dec 15th, 2013
Featured News / nagpur / News Today | By Nagpur Today
http://www.nagpurtoday.in/gadkaris-co-took-loan-of-rs-39-50-cr-on-sugar-mill-land-bought-at-rs-14-10-cr/

BMC blind to high-profile illegality

Civic body fails to do a campa cola on sukhada-shubhada bldgs where netas stay
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) seems keen to initiate action against seven Campa Cola Compound buildings, but it seems to be dragging its feet over high-profile twin societies Shubhada and Shukhada in Worli (in pic), where also unauthorised alterations have been carried out.
Infighting in the BMC is responsible for the delay.

According to a senior civic official, the matter has been referred to the civic body’s legal department, following a dispute between the building proposal department and the designated officer from the G-south ward office.

The dispute started after the designated officer questioned the department if he has the authority to take action, based on the notices the department has issued to the societies over the violations.

In April this year, the civic body had issued notices to deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, BJP leader Gopinath Munde, Punjab governor Shivraj Patil Chakurkar, Maharashtra state Congress president Manikrao Thakre and ministers Patangrao Kadam and Anil Deshmukh, among others under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, following complaints from RTI activist Amit Maru.

These politicians have allegedly converted shops allotted to them into offices and even gymnasiums and carried out unauthorised alterations.

Civic officials said that since the societies did not remove the unauthorised alterations, the matter was forwarded to the designated officer of the G-south ward in September to initiate action.

As per a gazette notification issued on April 15, 2013, designated officers across the city have been empowered to initiate action against unauthorised constructions in their respective wards. The notification has made a ward’s assistant engineer (building and factory) as the designated officer.

“Because the notices have been issued by the building proposal department, action will be delayed. The designated officer will have to start the process from the beginning, such as seeking the required plans, inspecting sites to verify the violations and initiate action,” said a civic official.

“But if the designated officer overlooks any irregularity, even by mistake, he will be held responsible. We believe the assistant engineer of the building proposal department, who issued the notices to the societies, can be made the stand-in designated officer. He knows the issue well, so he will be in a better position to take action,” added the official.
Courtesy
Vishwas Waghmode @vishwas_01
Published Date:  Nov 09, 2013
http://epaper.dnaindia.com/story.aspx?id=54890&boxid=36102&ed_date=2013-11-09&ed_code=820009&ed_page=4

शुभदा हाऊसिंग सोसायटीत अजित पवारांचे ८ बेनामी फ्लॅट्स

नागपूर, दि. १९ (प्रतिनिधी) - सिंचन घोटाळ्यात अडकलेले राज्याचे उपमुख्यमंत्री अजित पवार यांनी मुंबईच्या वादग्रस्त शुभदा हाऊसिंग सोसायटीत एक दोन नव्हे तर चक्क ८ फ्लॅट दुसर्‍याच्या नावाने खरेदी केले असल्याची धक्कादायक माहिती कॉंग्रेसचे माजी प्रदेशाध्यक्ष व शुभदा सोसायटीचे अध्यक्ष रणजित देशमुख यांनी आज दिली.

मुंबईतील वादग्रस्त शुभदा हाऊसिंग स्किममध्ये राज्यातील अनेक मातब्बर पुढार्‍यांनी बेकायदेशीर बांधकाम केले आहे तसेच काहींनी बेनामी फ्लॅट्स घेतले असल्याची माहिती देशमुख यांनी दिली. सरकारच्या जागेवर होणार्‍या प्रत्येक फ्लॅटस्किममध्ये अनुसुचित जाती आणि मागासवर्गीयांसाठी फ्लॅट्स ठेवावे लागतात. मात्र या वर्गातील सदस्य समोर न आल्याने काहींनी बनावट एससी आणि ओबीसी सदस्य आणून त्यांच्या नावावर फ्लॅट घेतल्याचा आरोपही रणजित देशमुख यांनी केला.

फ्लॅटची किंमत २ कोटीच्या वर
- ६०० वर्गफुटाच्या प्रत्येक फ्लॅटची किंमत तब्बल २ कोटीच्या वर आहे. त्यामुळे एकट्या अजित पवारांची गुंतवणूक १६ कोटीच्या घरात असल्याचे देशमुख यांनी सांगितले. याच पद्धतीने कॉंगेसचे खासदार विजय दर्डा यांनीही फ्लॅट्स घेतल्याचे देशमुख यांनी एका प्रश्‍नाच्या उत्तरात सांगितले.
साभार:
http://www.saamana.com/2013/April/20/Link/Mumbai2.htm

Dam Scam: Ajit Pawar diverted dam water to industry

State Authority, Affected People Not Consulted
Mumbai: Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar might have apologized for his callous “urinating-in-the-dam” statement that belittled the tragedy of Maharashtra’s farmers facing the worst drought in decades. But his apathy for them predates the blunder by years.

Between 2003 and 2011, as the water resources minister and then finance minister, Pawar chaired or partook in a high-powered committee that diverted almost 2,000 million cubic metre (mcm) of water meant for irrigation to industries.

Equivalent to the storage capacity of Maharashtra’s largest dam Koyna, the large-scale redirection from 51 dams reduced the state’s irrigation potential by about four lakh hectares—an area about nine times the size of Greater Mumbai. This coincided with, as repeatedly highlighted by TOI, criminal cost escalations of many dam projects in the state.

According to information collated by Prayas, a Pune-based NGO, the committee allowed 40% to over 80% of water in 23 projects to be diverted to industries.

From Hetwane dam in Raigad district, 88% water was rerouted. From Amba and Pavna dams in Pune district, 81% water was allotted away from irrigation and to industries.

The decisions to funnel away water meant for farmers were taken, according to Prayas, without consultations with the affected people and—as is mandated under the Maharashtra Water Regulatory Authority Act of 2005—with the Maharashtra Water Regulatory Authority.

FARMERS SUFFER AT NETAS' HANDS
In 2002, the Centre amended its National Water Policy, giving top priority to irrigation and drinking purposes, followed by hydro power and ecology. Water for industries came way down the priority list.

In 2003, Maharashtra announced its Water Policy, which gave top priority to drinking, cattle usage, refrigeration and industries. The same year, a high-powered committee (HPC) was formed by state water resources dept headed by Ajit Pawar, prescribing principles for diverting water for nonagriculture purpose.

In 2005, state introduced Maharashtra Water Regulatory Authority Act, 2005. The Authority had to be consulted before any decision to divert water was taken. However, HPC never consulted the Authority, or the public, and betweeen 2003 and 2011, diverted almost 2,000 McM water from 51 dams Panel disbanded as its decisions to divert water came under scrutiny

The committee’s decisions were in line with the state water policy which gives preference to industries while apportioning water—but disregarded the Central water policy that sets irrigation as a higher priority than industries. This partiality continued until 2010, when charges were made in the Bombay high court of illegalities in water diversion.

As protests erupted around the state, the government sought to legalize the high-powered committee’s decisions by inserting various clauses in the Water Regulatory Authority Act through an ordinance. It was able to ram the bill through the Lower House on April 14, 2011 at 1.30am, when barely any members were present. However, the Upper House rejected the bill, causing great embarrassment to the government.

Faced with defeat, the chief minister disbanded the highpowered committee and assured that decisions on water diversion would be taken by the cabinet, not the committee. The new resolve briefly led to heightened friction between the Congress and the NCP.

“This is not a debate on industries versus agriculture. It is about how water meant for farmers was diverted without public consultation,” said a Prayas member. The NGO will release a report on water diversion later this month.

In a paper published last year, Prayas said that Maharashtra’s 2003 water policy, in a first for any Indian state, assigned “higher priority” in water allocation to industrial use as compared to irrigation.

The state then issued a government resolution instituting a ministerial-level committee. Called high-powered committee, it was headed by Pawar in his capacity as water resources minister and included five ministers from the finance, water supply and sanitation, industry, and agriculture departments.

The state empowered the committee to decide on allotting and reserving water for non-irrigation users, including private industries. The state water resources department, meanwhile, issued a circular, stating that up to 25% of water diversion from dam storage would be cleared by chief engineer. Any diversion above 25% of the limit was to be referred to the high-powered committee.

In eight years, the committee held 21 meetings. Official records show that the agriculture minister’s attendance was barely 35%. The Prayas representative said, “The meetings were marked by poor attendance. Except for Pawar, other members recorded poor attendance. Whenever water is to be diverted for non-irrigation purpose, the agriculture minister must be present. However,his attendance was 35%. Other members recorded attendance of 50%.”

In 2010, two petitions were filed in the HC, alleging illegalities in the process of water diversion from Upper Wardha dam to the Sophia Power Company and from Hetwane dam to industries. The court allowed diversion from Upper Wardha.

Times View: Can’t blame weather for dry dams I t would be naive in the twenty-first century to blame the rains for our dry dams. The blame must be apportioned between netas and babus who frame policies and then tinker with those policies so much that what happens on the ground is markedly different from what is originally planned. Delays in construction of dams, cost overruns and diversion of water meant for irrigation to industries – all accompanied by talk of money changing hands at every step – form a part of this grand tinkering that Indian decision-makers have perfected to an art.

IMPROPER FLOW | A major step towards legislating the process of water management, the Maharashtra Water Regulatory Authority Act, 2005, provided equal rights to all landowners in the command areas of dams and empowered the Maharashtra Water Regulatory Authority to take decisions pertaining to water usage. Yet, the high-powered committee never consulted the regulator while diverting water meant for irrigation to non-agricultural activities
Courtesy:
Nauzer K Bharucha TNN
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIM/2013/04/10&PageLabel=3&EntityId=Ar00300&ViewMode=HTML

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

Irrigation Scam : 3 Member SIT To Investigate Case

Nagpur: Bowing to pressure from the opposition, the state government on Monday announced a probe by a special investigation team (SIT) into the alleged irrigation scam.

Water resources minister Sunil Tatkare informed the Lower House of the legislature that the SIT would be headed by irrigation expert and former bureaucrat Dr Madhavrao Chitale. The team’s terms of reference and work duration, he said, would be finalized before December 31.

Government sources said the panel would have two more members apart from Chitale and would get six months to complete the probe. The two other SIT members will also be former civil servants, with one from a financial background.
Courtesy:
Sharad Vyas TNN
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIM/2012/12/18&PageLabel=1&EntityId=Ar00106&ViewMode=HTML

How ministers kept IAS out of irrigation and PWD depts

Irrigation Scam of 70,000 Crores in Maharashtra

Two state departments - irrigation and public works - now facing serious charges of corruption have long been resisting the appointment of IAS officers as their administrative heads.

While the irrigation department is currently helmed by Nationalist Congress Party's Sunil Tatkare, who is facing an Anti-Corruption Bureau probe for amassing assets disproportionate to his income, the public works department is led by his party colleague Chhagan Bhujbal, who has faced embarrassing questions about irregularities in the reconstruction of the Maharashtra Sadan in New Delhi.

The irrigation department till 2009 was controlled by Ajit Pawar, who resigned earlier this week as deputy chief minister following allegations that cost escalations in construction of dams had robbed the state of close to Rs 35,000 crore.

In December last year, the then chief secretary Ratnakar Gaikwad had proposed that both irrigation and PWD, just like any other department, must be headed by an IAS officer for better administrative oversight. The file went to Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and he marked it 'Please speak' and sent it back to Gaikwad.

However, when the proposal discussed at a post-Cabinet briefing in January this year it met with stiff resistance from Tatkare, Bhujbal and Pawar, who was then the deputy chief minister. The proposal was never considered again.

Speaking exclusively to Mumbai Mirror on Thursday evening, Gaikwad confirmed he had moved the proposal to install IAS officers in irrigation and public works department. "The proposal met with opposition from certain ministers and was then put in cold storage," he said.

On Thursday evening, all attempts to contact Tatkare and Pawar were futile, and Bhujbal said he did not remember anything about any proposal to appoint an IAS officer as the administrative head of public works department.

Irrigation and PWD are the only two departments, apart from law and judiciary, where non-IAS officers rise through the ranks to the top slot of secretaries. While the logic behind having a non-IAS head law and judiciary is that the department requires somebody who knows his law, this clearly does not apply to irrigation and PWD.

The irrigation department has eight posts of secretaries. Two of them are posted in Mantralaya - one as principal secretary (irrigation) the supreme boss, and the other as secretary, command area development. There are six more posts of executive directors of various irrigation corporations and they have secretary rank. All these are engineers who have risen through the ranks.

The PWD has two secretaries - one for roads and another for buildings. Again, both are engineers.

Gaikwad's proposal did not seek to change this structure. It had only sought to appoint an IAS officer as the supreme boss in both departments. "The idea was to have independent oversight of the department. The political heads, obviously, did not want this," said an officer who did not wish to be identified. "The officers who start as engineers in irrigation or public works departments know they have to make their careers in these two departments. Hence they always toe the line. IAS officers have life beyond a particular department. In fact, they have a life beyond the state government. Hence, they tend to question more, probe deeper," he said.

No wonder then that no questions were raised in the irrigation department, when costs of building dams rose from a few hundred crores to a few thousand crores in a matter of days. Obviously, nobody had anything to gain by raising any questions and, of course, everything to lose.

 ‘Is this how partners behave?’
The Congress leaders have taken strong objection to effigies of Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan being burnt by NCP activists, who blamed Chavan for the problems his former deputy Ajit Pawar finds himself in.

State Congress office-bearers and district unit chiefs met in the city to condemn the action of NCP workers.

Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee chief Manikrao Thakre said he would convey the "strong sentiments" of Congress functionaries to his NCP counterpart Madhukar Pichad, who said he had already instructed party workers to stop protest rallies and demonstrations across the state.

The exit of Ajit Pawar from the government appeared certain, with NCP boss Sharad Pawar saying the issue of the deputy chief minister's resignation was "over" for the party.

Pawar said that after the party leadership gave Ajit the "permission" to step down after "due consideration", he handed over the resignation letter to Chavan.

Courtesy:
Yogesh Naik
Posted On Friday, September 28, 2012 at 04:31:01 AM
http://www.mumbaimirror.com/article/2/2012092820120928043111501f4797882/How-ministers-kept-IAS-out-of-irrigation-and-PWD-depts.html.......................