Chit Fund Means in India : Few Points about Scam of Lakhs of Crores

“Why Government is not nabbing all the directors of errant companies, who fled away with poor people’s hard earn money?  They all should be behind the bars first, same as in the case of Sahara India, then start recovery process.” Virendra Pandey, Chief Promotor, Yuva Shakti Pratishthan

Mr. Virendra Pandey : A Crusader To Stop The Chit Fund Menace  

Mr. Virendra Pandey wrote an article, in which he is questioning to the government for recovery of poor citizen’s money looted by the chit fund companies of India. He emphasis on size of the scam not only in the financial aspects but huge hawala transactions and black money generated and stashed abroad. He also says that government should form an SIT and investigate this scam. Here is the full article:

Illegal CIS Menace

I have come to know that general public and small / medium investors invested their hard earned money in various “quick earn and quick make rich schemes” with higher returns and various incentive promised by companies for promoting products / services wherein a person has to become a member / agent or in other words buy a product to become an agent (interpreted by different names by different companies) and make more members under them and sell the company’s products / services as it was sold to him for which he is offered a hefty commission and incentives thus expanding their tentacles faster and raking in money in hundreds and thousands of crores through MLM / network marketing route and promoting themselves as sale/ purchase or service provider company and circumventing the law of CIS scheme.

After receiving various complaints, I conducted a detailed investigation through our financial and legal experts in the workings and financials claims done by various companies Like PACL, SAIPRASAD GROUP, SAIPRAKASH GROUP, SAMRUDDHA JIVAN Etc. and we have come to the conclusion that there are huge financial irregularities running into thousands of crores and all the claims made by your company through the directors and agents are absolutely false baseless and frivolous.

Do PACL has 60 Lakhs 43 Thousand 388 Sq. Acras Land Bank?

We, gave them an opportunity of being heard by sending notices through our advocates, but there was no reply from them till date we started submitting our finding with law enforcement agencies and now even Security and Appellate Authority has dismissed there claim and ordered PACL TO REFUND Rs. 49,100 CRORES to the 5.85 CRORES CUSTOMERS. Therefore a question arises if the PACL has collected money from 5.85 CRORES CUSTOMERS @ 7500/- per unit then where has the money gone because as per SAT order each customer will get only Rupee 839.31 that to I doubt if the company has sufficient asset to return it. 

As per my calculations, if PACL handed over the 500 Sq. Yards land piece for Rs. 7,500 investment, and if there are 5.85 crores inventors, they must hold a land bank of approximate in the size of 29,25,00,00,000 Sq. Yards land. This is approximate 60 Lakhs 43 Thousand 388 Sq. Acras.

Tons of Questions, No Answers

I had asked how much land with clear marketable title is in possession of your company as on 31st December 2014 along with supported documents state wise.

I had asked how many plot holders do they have as on 31st December 2014 provide list State wise? Which now it is clear by the order of SAT that PACL has 5.85 crores.

PACL has collected more than Rs.40000 crores, I had asked PACL list of people from whom they had collected the amount state wise?

I had asked how many farm houses do PACL possess State wise details.

I had asked whether farm houses are operative?

I had asked why you take Power of Attorney from customer on blank paper.

I had asked why registration Letter, Allotment Letter etc. are issued on letter head of company, instead of any government letter or stamp paper?

I had pointed and demanded PACL company officials about their Auditor of your company has observed that there a discrepancies regarding title and ownership of land, requested give us complete list of such property.

I had requested the company to give us complete list of advances paid for purchase of land along with location of plot and owner/sellers/authorized persons, name to which advances have been paid.

I had asked why has PACL made investments in 100’s of companies like MDLR/ blue coast resorts etc which has no business revelation with the objectives of PACL and is nowhere mentioned in the j/v cum investment agreement of the investors/agent.

I had asked why has directors of PACL and subsidiary companies entered into 100’s of companies in which funds from PACL or its subsidiaries was infused or invested and after some time this directors got retired and went on in some other company doing the same modus-operandi, what is the status of funds which was invested into such companies as this invested funds were collected from lakhs of small and medium investors/agent from across the country in the name of j/v in property development business I shall now right to various law enforcement agencies to enquire the assets and properties of all the directors associated with PACL and its subsidiaries where they have entered and resigned.

I had asked to give us list of complete advances for purchase of land, which are doubtful in the opinion of your company auditor.

I had asked to give us list of loans and advances. Do you receive interest on such advances? Have you taken any permission for granting any such loan from the investors, if yes give us details?

I had asked Why PACL has paid commission and incentive in advance? Give us the complete list of commission and incentive paid in advances and purpose why it is given in advance? Also please provide us the copy of TDS deducted by PACL from the commissions and incentives paid.

Fooling Government and Investors in the Name Of Development of Land

I had further observed that PACL give’s service of development, maintenance, custodian caretaker of the plot which you allot to its investors/agent at a price with a guaranteed high returns thus providing your expertise as service to your clients and do any sale why you should not be termed as service provider and government should not collect service tax from you?

Why Fund Transfer to Australia?

It was further noticed by me that huge amount of funds was transferred to Australia without the permissions of the investors/agents of company thus indulging into illegal trade practice and also may be money laundering.

Where is the Land?

As per the opinion report submitted by my financial expert I doubt that the company does not have sufficient clear marketable land as it shows in the books of account and as shown that they have allotted.

Fake Land Dealing by Company

I have sufficient proof that you have indulged into fabricating of fraud property documents through your front people and office bearers to purchase fraudulently force fully properties and register properties in Raigad district by producing dummy vendor?

I think that by playing the number game of companies and rotating funds from one company to another company and further in some other company you have purpose fully tried to siphoned thousands of crores of hard earned invested funds of the investors/customers/agents and may have transferred it to Australia by illegal means.

I also found that the advances for purchase of land to the tune of Rs1484.63 crores have been paid which seems to be doubtful in nature. Please provide the necessary documents of the parties to whom the advances where paid and for which land??

In the opinion taken their financial experts they have found out that a total amount of 2892.99 crores have been invested in a shady manner my client would like to know the details of investment, name and address of parties to whom the funds were given and purpose of transaction?

Let’s end the Chit Fund menace… Let’s begin the war against financial loot by the crooks in the disguise in the corporate companies. 

‘Name CM’s quota flat owners in 4 days’

HC Warns Of Contempt If Multiple Allottees’ List Is Not Given By Friday
Mumbai: Furnish a list of all double or multiple flat allotments under the chief minister’s discretionary quota in four days, the Bombay high told the state government on Monday.

The high court’s tough stance was clear when a division bench of Justices Abhay Oka and S C Gupte said it would be forced to initiate action if the list was not submitted.

“We want complete compliance of the April 2012 order of the high court. If not, we will not hesitate to issue contempt proceedings,” said the judges.

Hearing a petition on irregularities in allotments under the CM’s quota, another division bench in April 2012 had asked the state to furnish a list of persons to whom second flats had been allotted under the quota as well as details of whether any inquiry was conducted before the allotments.

About 2% of all Mhada flats and 5% flats in private projects on land that was within the purview of the Urban Land Ceiling Act go to the CM’s discretionary quota. They are allotted by the CM to artists, journalists, sportsmen and elected representatives.

The government’s last-gasp bid on Monday to keep the list secret by offering a copy only for the judges’ perusal did not pass muster.

“The April order does not say the copy of the list of allottees should not be given to the petitioner,” said the judges. They ordered the state to submit the list on Friday and give copies to petitioner Ketan Tirodkar by Saturday.

Additional public prosecutor Aruna Pai said the list was ready and the state would submit it to the court. The next hearing has been set for Monday.

Tirodkar in his petition had said he had obtained details of flat allotments under the CM’s quota between 1989 and 2010 through the Right to Information Act. He claimed there had been second allotments either to the same person or his family members and the beneficiaries were mostly politicians and journalists. “(The names of allotees) will be clear from the list,” said the court.

The court also heard the petition of Manohar Bait, who was initially held eligible for a flat under the CM’s quota and kept on the waiting list for years before being told that he could not be allotted a flat. Advocate Uday Warunjikar, counsel for Bait, echoed Tirodkar and told the court that details obtained under the RTI had revealed that politicians and their kin cutting across party lines benefited from second or multiple allotment of flats in violation of rules.
Courtesy:
Shibu Thomas TNN
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIM/2013/12/03&PageLabel=3&EntityId=Ar00301&ViewMode=HTML

AAP gets powerful boost as whistleblower of Rs 70,000 cr irrigation scam joins party

The honest bureaucrat and expert on irrigation, Vijay Pandhare had exposed exactly how the scam was perpetrated.

Nagpur News: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Maharashtra received a powerful boost and a shot in the arm when the Irrigation Officer and whistleblower of the 70,000 crore Irrigation Scam in Maharashtra Vijay Pandhare joined the party today in Nashik. He addressed a joint press conference with AAP leaders Anjali Damania and Sanjiv Sane to announce this decision at 1 pm on December 1 at Hotel Samrat in Nashik.

The AAP Maharashtra Convener Anjali Damania had blown the lid off the irrigation scam in which thousands of crores were spent on meaningless projects just to benefit crony capitalism. Government attempts to sweep the scam under the carpet were blown away when the honest and expert on irrigation, Vijay Pandhare exposed exactly how the scam was perpetrated. A bureaucrat himself, he was undeterred by the thought of repercussions from his political bosses and set a sterling example before the nation.
Saturday was his last day in service and today he has decided to enter the cesspool of politics to clean the muck that has ruined the country. Under his leadership AAP will pursue the perpetrators of the irrigation scam and strive to get every rupee back.

“We also welcome all bureaucrats who have tried their best to serve the nation despite the stranglehold of corrupt politicians, to take this fight to the public – to join AAP, contest elections and bring about the political revolution that is so critical to change the system,” the party Convener Anjali Damania said.
Courtesy:
Published On: Mon, Dec 2nd, 2013
News Today | By Nagpur Today
http://www.nagpurtoday.in/aap-gets-powerful-boost-as-whistleblower-of-rs-70000-cr-irrigation-scam-joins-party/

MLA Sunil Kedar found guilty in NDCCB scam, ordered to deposit Rs 300 crore in the Bank

The scam pertains to purchase-sale of Government Bonds. The Cooperation Department has found Sunil Kedar, the former Chairman of the NDCCB, guilty in the scam after 11 years of gruelling and sustained probe into the massive irregularities.

Nagpur News: The Congress MLA from Saoner Sunil Kedar, the key accused in the Rs 150 crore scam pertaining to purchase-sale of Government Bonds, has been ordered to pay Rs 300 crore for causing loss to Nagpur District Central Co-operative Bank (NDCCB).

The Cooperation Department has found Sunil Kedar, the former Chairman of the NDCCB, guilty in the scam after 11 years of gruelling and sustained probe into the massive irregularities. Kedar has been ordered to deposit Rs 129.31 crore with 12 per cent interest per month the total of which stands at Rs 300 crore including the principal amount and the interest.

The scam got exposed in 2002. The Cooperation Department has also blamed the General Manager Ashok Chaudhary and other Directors of NDCCB for the scam. The Investigating Officer, in his probe report, has recommended legal actions against the guilty if they fail to deposit the amounts.

The Special Auditor (Class 1) Yashwant Bagde gave his final order on Thursday (November 28) after 11 years of investigation into the scam. According to the order, Rs 25 crore would be recovered from the General Manager Ashok Chaudhary. Moreover, the former Vice-Chairman of the Bank Asha Mahajan, former Directors Shyamrao Dhawad, Kusum Kimmatkar, Morebaji Nimje, Rameshkumar Nimje, and Santosh Chore have been ordered to pay Rs 1020 each as fines.

The Saoner MLA Sunil Kedar has been ordered to deposit 90 per cent of the scam amount in the Bank on account of recovery of loss. Sunil Kedar is also facing criminal proceedings in a court for the scam.

THE EXACT SCAM:

• The MLA Sunil Kedar invested the NDCCB money in the Gilt through Mumbai’s Home Trade. 
• Initially, after receiving the invested money back, the Bank invested the money for purchasing the Government Bonds but the money never came back. 
• In the meanwhile, Sunil Kedar became Chairman of the NDCCB in 2000 and, in the first ever General Body meeting, he got the proposal regarding utilization of Bank money in the purchase-sale of Government Bonds passed in the meeting. 
• This way, Kedar misused his powers and caused huge loss to the Bank.

Courtesy:
Published On: Thu, Nov 28th, 2013
News Today | By Nagpur Today
http://www.nagpurtoday.in/mla-sunil-kedar-found-guilty-in-ndccb-scam-ordered-to-deposit-rs-300-crore-in-the-bank/

Kedar trying to ditch order on Nagpur Co-op bank scam; demand to seize his assets raised

Even as the former state Congress president and senior party leader Ranjeet Deshmukh wrote a letter to the Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, alleging leniency in taking action against Congress MLA Sunil Kedar to recover Rs 299 crore allegedly bungled in Nagpur District Central Cooperative Bank scam, Kedar has been reportedly cooking up tricks to defy the recent order issued by the department of cooperatives. The department of cooperatives in its order has asked Kedar to pay up the dues allegedly siphoned off during the tenure of Kedar as the chairman of the bank.

In his letter Deshmukh demanded immediate seizure of assets owned by Kedar in order to recover the dues. However Kedar has been applying tactics to buy time and calm down the fire, just to avoid making payment.

Sources sent out strong indications that the Congress MLA Kedar may cannily evolve strategy to ditch the dues. He most probably would secure a stay and thus defeat the intention of the order, the sources said.

Kedar is reported to have already moved an appeal before the office of the minister of cooperation.

The action against Kedar has been initiated under section 88 of the Maharashtra State Cooperative Act. This stipulates that the management has to be held responsible if there is a fraud or negligence in a cooperative bank. Sources keeping tabs on the affair assert if Kedar’s appeal is rejected by the cooperatives’ minister, the bank can move the High Court in the matter.

The bank’s chairman says he would soon hold a meeting and the recovery order would be a prominently discussed in the meeting.
Courtesy:
Published On: Thu, Dec 12th, 2013
News Today | By Nagpur Today
http://www.nagpurtoday.in/kedar-trying-to-ditch-order-on-nagpur-co-op-bank-scam-demand-to-seize-his-assets-raised/

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/

Maharashtra Legislators urged to raise Rs.2000 crore ‘Shreesurya–Wasankar- Satvik’ Scams

Nagpur News: After EOW has arrested directors of ‘Shreesurya Group’ under charges of cheating of 10 thousand investors from farm crisis hit Vidarbha and Marathwada lured with towering return dumped now recently another two wealth management companies one floated by Dr. Prashant Wasankar and another floated by Amol Dhake titled Satvik Financial Services Ltd. have been reported to be involved in same illegal acts and facing same fate, they have trapped more than 10,000 middle class and old aged pensioners by promising very high returns of schemes which were never allowed by RBI or SEBI nor these companies got any legal permission to do but they are till looting innocent investors as administration is protecting them hence Maharashtra legislators are being humbly requested take up this serious issue on the floor of house as winter session in progress in nagpur itself, Kishore Tiwari of Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti (VJAS) informed in press release today.

Nagpur has been rocking with such stories of Mega Investment Scam and it is alleged that these so called wealth management companies has sussefully eroded eroded the hard earn money of more than five thousands innocent people offering high dreams of rich future within short span of time as per documents attached with this complaint that Wasankar who is charging huge amount membership amounting more than Rs. One lakh per annum collected more than Rs. 2000 crore giving post dated cheques offering around 30% interest on deposit nut now forget the interest investors are finding difficult to get back their own money more over, this firms run Dr. Prashant Wasankar company and Amol Dhake titled Satvik Financial Services Ltd are not registered with any regulator under finance ministry or Reserve Bank of India or Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for collecting such deposits which is illegal as per GOI acts and Mah.state’s money leading act. But nobody has questioned the company as on today hence Maharashtra lawmakers are to ask Govt. to initiate the action under Maharashtra protection of investors deposit act 1999 (MPID) against Wasankar Group promoters in order to save these investors ,Kishore Tiwari demanded.

“The grid of investors or depositors to higher return is leading to innocent victimization in which most victims are middle class pensioners hence we are urging CM to have urgent intervention to get back basic capital of these dying old age pensioners as we have received lot complaints that Dr. Prashant Wasankar has denied to pay back capital sighting the reasons of financial crisis hence state should give him financial bailout package as all illegal activities of Wasankar and amol dhake are being promoted and protected by Babus, police and other hostile pillars of democracy” Tiwari added.

In letter open letter to all MLA/MLC it is requested that that Dr.Prashant Wasankar and Amol Dhake have been working in Nagpur as sub-broker of BSE-NSE capital market since last two decades ,have earned the confidence of investors to larger extend and has been writing in local newspapers on wealth creation solutions and arranged investors meet in all metros of India and abroad ,is having active operation in Australia and Singapore but his real activities of running fishy and illegal deposits schemes offering interest rates more than 1.5% has been reported in Feb,2013 and when shreesurya scan was reported , cracks to the trust of wasankar developed and investors panic of getting capital money back has exposed the bankruptcy of wasankar group and investors realized they have been dumped and cheated by fraudulent misleading investment advices given by Dr.Prashant Wasankar ,has approached VJAS to get back their hard earn life time earning hence CM Maharashtra has been urged to intervene in the matter as local politicians are covering misdeed of Wasankar ,Tiwari added.

VJAS has attached promissory notes and cheques given Dr. Prashant Wasankar and Interest chart signed by himself offering the schemes that double the money with 30 months and offering a membership collecting Rs lakhs of rupees then members where asked to give fix deposits and but now investors are demanding the return of the capital but Dr.Prashant Wasankar has failed to return the money and he has been asking the investors to wait sighting recession in share market and helpless investors are crying before the office of Wasankar Group and in the plea to CM of maharashtra VJAS has drawn the attention of administration that all deposits collected by the Wasankar company are illegal and has no legitimate status where as he has been fully protected by local Police Authorities, SEBI, RBI, Govt. of Maharashtra etc. and activities of Wasankar Wealth Management Group and Satvik Financial Services Ltd. is nothing but money laundering activities and it has international network too, Tiwari added.

Recently Wasankar Group and Satvik Financial Services Ltd. illegal activities and bankruptcy was reported in electronic and print media but administration and police have turned blind eye but now investors are gathering before the of Wasankar Group and Satvik Financial Services Ltd. offices and crying for money but they are finding helpless as administration has turned blind eye to this scam earlier too , last month Sameer Joshi has dumped innocent investors around Rs.240 crore earlier that one Pramod Agarwal has dumped thousands of investors to tune of Rs 100 crore on the name of Mahadev Land Developers and Ullas Khaire had dumped around 1 lakh people of Rs 1,100 crore and now this Wasankar Group and Satvik Financial Services Ltd.likely repeat the same story hence we are urging Mah. CM to initiate action under Maharashtra protection of investors deposit act 1999 (MPID) against Wasankar Group and Satvik Financial Services Ltd. Promoters so that innocent investors hard earn money is protected ,Kishore Tiwari added.
Courtesy:
Published On: Wed, Dec 11th, 2013
News Today | By Nagpur Today
http://www.nagpurtoday.in/maharashtra-legislators-urged-to-raise-rs-2000-crore-shreesurya-wasankar-satvik-scams/

Mumbai has the state’s most corrupt officials

ACB records show 16% of 1,010 graft cases in Maharashtra are from city

MUMBAI: The city’s government and public sector officials are more corrupt than those in the rest of Maharashtra, reveals the latest data compiled by the AntiCorruption Bureau (ACB).

Cases against officials in Mumbai make up 16% of the total cases registered in the state — 1,010 — between January 1 and October 31, 2013, as per the data submitted by the ACB to the chief minister’s office recently, and accessed by HT.

By the end of October, 164 cases had been re gistered against them, of which 99 are discreet inquiries, 21 open inquiries, 40 involved traps laid to catch them and four are instances of disproportionate assets.

Nashik follows closely with 155 cases.

While the ACB’s Mumbai region data does not have casespecific and department-specific information, state-wide statistics show the police and the revenue department vying for top spot in the corruption chart. While the police have 126 corruption cases against them (involving 197 employees), the revenue department is close behind at 125 cases (involving 161 staffers).

The ACB has seized disproportionate assets worth around Rs21 crore from 17 accused, and in this category, the public works department tops the list, with assets worth Rs17.8 crore being seized from eight of its officials.

While top-ranked (class one and class two officers) in the PWD and transport departments were found to have accumulated a lot of disproportionate assets, no officers in these ranks in the police, revenue, irrigation, civic corporations, forest, education, agriculture and zilla parishads have such cases registered against them.

Though far less compared to police and revenue officials, local self-government staffers - civic corporations, zilla parishads and panchayat samitis - too have a significant number of cases registered against them. Employees of the public health and state electricity company, Mahavitaran, too are not above corruption.
Courtesy:
3 Dec 2013,
Hindustan Times (Mumbai)
Dharmendra Jore dharmendra.jore@hindustantimes.com
http://paper.hindustantimes.com/epaper/viewer.aspx

Govt may retain Lavasa’s special status with riders

Mumbai: The state government might retain the special planning authority (SPA) status granted to Lavasa with some riders.

Last year, a report from the state urban development (UD) department had recommended revocation of the special status.

An alternate option of retaining the status while appointing a government nominated official as its chief officer is now being considered. A committee appointed to review the status has sought a feedback from Lavasa Corporation regarding the new option, sources revealed.

The SPA status gives an entity the power to draw up land use plans, develop land in its jurisdiction and sanction building and development plans. Such a status is usually granted to government undertakings.

A report by the UD last year had recommended revocation of the status. The report had cited an opinion from the union UD ministry, which had said that “Maharashtra was the only state that had granted such a status to a private company and that it should not set such a precedent”.

In 2012, the Comptroller and Auditor General too had questioned the SPA status granted to Lavasa.

Even as the committee is yet to submit its final report, sources said that its members feel revoking the special status entirely might be difficult. The option of appointing a statenominated person to head the SPA will increase its accountability towards the government, an official said requesting anonymity.

Meanwhile, the Lavasa Corporation could be granted a say in local governance matters. Sources said the option of allowing the private agency to take up road development and maintenance, water supply and sewerage disposal, for all areas falling in the hill city’s notified region was under consideration.

These works are at present undertaken by the respective gram panchayats. The private firm, which pays property taxes to the gram panchayats, had complained of lack of services provided by them.
Courtesy:
Sandeep Ashar TNN
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIM/2013/06/11&PageLabel=9&EntityId=Ar00900&ViewMode=HTML

Ambulance Scam: Forgery alleged in state’s 1,000-crore ambulance deal

Mumbai: A petition filed in the Bombay high court on Monday alleges that the contract for Maharashtra Emergency Medical Service (MEMS), touted as the world’s largest ambulance service, was bagged on the basis of forged documents. MEMS is expected to boast of 937 ambulances and will require an investment of Rs 1,000 crore over five years. The service was expected to make its debut in August.

The work order in the MEMS tender process, which began in September, 2011, was issued just two weeks ago to a consortium comprising Pune-based BVG India and London-based UK Specialist Ambulance Service Ltd (UKSAS). BVG, a leading cleaning solutions group, is the main financial arm of the consortium, while UKSAS is a technical partner.

COURT BATTLE OVER LIFE-SAVER BVG India and Londonbased UK Specialist Ambulance Service Ltd (UKSAS) bag deal for 937 ambulances in state
Work order given two weeks ago, inauguration expected in August

Disqualified bidderZiqitza Health Care Ltd moves Bombay high court, accuses UKSAS of forgery and submitting false papers
But additional chief secretary (health) holds all documents are genuine.

Petitioner didn’t attend state’s hearing on ambulance deal: Min
Mumbai:A private ambulance provider which had bid for the Maharashtra Emergency Medical Service(MEMS)tender has filed a petition in the Bombay HC raising questions about London-based UK Specialist Ambulance Service Ltd’s (UKSAS) eligibility documents. A consortium of Pune-based BVG India and UKSAS had won the bid.

Ziqitza Health Care Ltd, the private ambulance provider, submitted documents collected under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act from various UK National Health Service (NHS) trusts, which stated that they have never issued any certificate to UKSAS. The FOI Act is similar to India’s Right to Information Act.

UKSAS, as part of the MEMS tendering process, submitted a certificate of eligibility issued by South London & Maudsley NHS Trust. But in its FOI reply issued on April 15, South London & Maudsley Trust categorically denied having issued any such certificate to UKSAS. “The trust has not endorsed any activity or issued experience/qualification/eligibility certificates to these companies,” reads the trust’s statement.

Ziqitza’s petition says, “The FOI reply also shows that respondent No. 6 (UKSAS) has commenced the business of operating ambulances in a non-emergency situation for transportation of mentally disturbed patients with respondent No. 7 (South London & Maudsley Trust) only after March 2012, which is four months after the date for the submission of the bid.” The petitioners alleged that as UKSAS was not operating any ambulance during the tendering process, the consortium could not have secured a certificate from South London & Maudsley Trust to satisfy the eligibility criteria. Ziqitza’s lawyer Shaffi Mather said, “This fraud has come to light from the information we collected in the UK as the Maharashtra government had consistently refused to share information in this regard,even under the RTI.”

TOI called up BVG India’s Pune offices ever al times. An official at BVG India founder Hanmant Gaikwad’s office said he was abroad. A copy of the FOI reply was sent to this official’s email, but there has been no response. Calls to his mobile have gone unanswered.

When TOI contacted UKSAS, its operations director Colin Vanlintcameon the line and said this was the first time he had heard of the FOI reply. At his request, TOI emailed him a scanned copy of the FOI reply thrice on different days. When TOI contacted him a second time, his office said he was on annualleave.

South London & Maudsley Trust’s Mark Nelson, who handles FOI queries, reiterated to TOI that his trust hadn’t issued any certificate. “A query from India was brought to my attention. We are investigating the matter,” he said over the phone.

Incidentally, this is the third time that Ziqitza has moved court over the MEMS tendering. In June, 2012, it filed a petition in the apex court challenging its disqualification from the tendering process. The SC threw out the petition.In February 2013, it moved the Bombay high court asking that the health secretary be directed to hear a formal complaint about allegedly false documents being submitted by BVG India and UKSAS. The court directed the state government to address the issue. Additional chief secretary (public health) T C Benjamin held a hearing and said the documents were genuine.

When TOI contacted Maharashtra health minister Suresh Shetty, he said the additional chief secretary had looked into the issue closely. “Ziqitza was told about the (state’s) hearing, but its representatives failed to turn up,” added Shetty. Both Shetty and Benjamin said they were unaware of the new petition filed by Ziqitza.

A senior health official, who didn’t wish to be named, said Ziqitza had been delaying the process to setup the emergency medical service by raising the same issues repeatedly. “All these issues have been heard before. The state law department was roped in to study the documents. We feel all is in order,” the official said.

Ziqitza operates the 1298 service in Mumbai as well as the government-run 108 service in Rajasthan, Bihar, Odisha, Punjab and Kerala.

ALLEGATIONS OF DOCTORED PAPERS WINNING BIDDER
SERVICE | Maharashtra Medical Emergency Services

WINNING BIDDER | State chose consortium of Pune-based BVG India and London-based UK Specialist Ambulance Service Ltd

AMBULANCES | 937


AMBULANCE TYPES | Around 700 would be advanced life support ambulances, each costing 32 lakh | Around 200 would be basic life support ambulances, each costing around 1.4 lakh  

TOTAL COST | Approximately 1,000 crore over 5 years FOR MUMBAI | 142 vehicles

HELPLINE | Service to be accessed by dialling 108. Call centre to be set up at Government Chest Hospital, Aundh, Pune

WORK ORDER | Given a couple of weeks ago to BVG India

INAUGURATION | Likely to be flagged off in August

USAGE | Ambulances to be used for medical emergencies following road accidents, natural calamities, epidemics, and situations related to pregnant women and newborns COURT

WRANGLES JUNE 
2012Ziqitza Health Care Ltd files a petition in the Supreme Court challenging its disqualification from the tender process. Court turns it down

FEB 2013Ziqitza files a petition in Bombay high court asking that the health secretary be directed to hear a formal complaint about submission of false documents by BVG India and UKSAS. Court directs state to hear petition and sort out matter. Additional chief secretary (health) in March holds that all documents are genuine

APR 29 2013Ziqitza files a fresh petition claiming forgery and submission of false documents by winning consortium. Ziqitza submits a Freedom of Information (UK, 2000) Act reply from an NHS Trust (South London & Maudsley NHS Trust) which states that it never issued a certificate of any sort to UKSAS.

AMBITIOUS PROJECT 
 Maharashtra Medical Emergency Service would be the world’s biggest ambulance service (London fleet has 700 ambulances) India has 108 helplines in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Meghalaya, Assam, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
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Irrigation Scam: 7 of 10 major Marathwada dams dry up; crisis to go on for a few yrs

Overall water stock dips to 6%; local administration out of funds to supply water and fodder

MUMBAI: With close to two months left for the monsoon to arrive, the usable water stock (live stock) in seven large dams in Marathwada region has already been exhausted, which has set off alarm bells in the state’s corridors of power.

The average water storage from the 10 big projects in Marathwada has come down to a record low of 6%, as per figures released on Monday.

Of the 76 talukas in the eight districts of Marathwada, 39 talukas face drought. Of the 4,000 tankers that supply drinking water across the state, 1,807 are deployed in Marathwada.

The administration in Marathwada, which has sought Rs245 crore from the state government to deal with the drought situation, has now started utilising dead water stock of Jayakwadi dam. Dead water stock is not used as its usage can deplete the region’s

ground water levels. Water from Jayakwadi is supplied to Aurangabad, Jalna, Ambad and Gevrai cities, which need 52.50 MLD water a month. The dead stock is likely to last for the next four months.

“The crisis does not end even if it rains sufficiently this year as filling the dam over its dead storage level is quite difficult. Drawing water from dead stock is dangerous and its consequences are long-lasting. It means that the water scarcity problem in the region will continue for the next couple of years,” said JK Banthia state chief secretary.

REELING UNDER DROUGHT
The water supply in Jalna, worse affected district of Marathwada, has dropped to once a fortnight. It is once in four days in Osmanabad, according to local MLAs. Families in Jalna end up spending nearly R5000 a month on water, including packaged water.

Elected representatives cry foul play by the tanker lobby as they manipulate on the number of trips of tankers supplying water.

39 of the 76 talukas in Marathwada are reeling under the drought. Administration has estimated the cost of water and fodder supply for three months Rs 245 crore.
Courtesy:
24 Apr 2013
Hindustan Times (Mumbai)
Surendra P Gangan surendra.gangan@hindustantimes.com
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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
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Nauzer K Bharucha TNN
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Depts holding up action against ‘corrupt’ exposed

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government has put several of its departments in the dock for sitting on requests for action against public servants prima facie found engaging in corruption.

In an affidavit filed on Monday before the Bombay high court, the state home department notes that other departments have repeatedly failed to clear the prosecution or investigation of more than 150 administrators and politicians accused in graft cases. Some permissions are awaited since 2001.

In the affidavit, joint secretary (home) Ruprao Deshmukh says that seven reminders were sent to the concerned departments’ secretaries between 2011 and 2012 to approve at the earliest the pending Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) proposals. Officials revealed to TOI that their response was far from ideal.

Rules mandate that the ACB follow stipulated steps while investigating a government official or minister. Most prominent among them is seeking the state’s approval to conduct an “Open Inquiry” and to prosecute. The state gives its nod after an ACB appeal has travelled through various stages and been green-lighted at every juncture.

“To clear the sanction-to-prosecute cases and review pendency, meetings were taken by the chief secretary on July 14, September 28 and December 31 of 2012. A booklet on relevant judgments on sanction to prosecute under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, was circulated to secretaries,” reads the affidavit filed before the high court, which is hearing a public interest litigation on the issue.

The petition is likely to be heard by the court on Wednesday.


According to the affidavit, the highest number of the allegedly corrupt officers is in the police and revenue departments, which together account for more than 40% of the pending approvals. These are followed in the graft list by municipal corporations, zilla parishads and others.

The affidavit lays bare some departments’ delay in clearing action against high-profile functionaries as well as class III and class IV employees for over a decade.

Home department officials said the affidavit is an effort to debunk accusations that the government is not willing to take on corrupt officials and politicians. Governmental apathy has been blamed even by the ACB for lack of headway in graft cases.

According to the affidavit, 42 applications for prosecution of class I and class II officials were pending till December 2012. For class III and IV officials, the list was longer at 67 pending cases.

In 17 cases, even Open Enquiries were not sanctioned against senior politicians and bureaucrats: Among these were PWD minister Chhagan Bhujbal, former CM Vilasrao Deshmukh, then Akola municipal commissioner L Deshmukh, IAS (officer) Ashok Lal, M B Appalwar (then posted with MHADA), Congress MLA Ram Prasad Bordikar, Haffkine Biopharma MD Prakash Sabde, and former Nashik municipal commissioner Bhaskar Sanap.

“These are crucial cases, but not a single approval has come in them. Why has the government not taken action against the department secretaries sitting on these files?” said a senior ACB officer. He added that the delay in sanctions is a deliberate attempt to put the cases in cold storage.
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DOLE SCAM : Netas, officials clean up 101cr meant for poor

State In A Fix As Minister Among 20,000 Involved
Mumbai: Roiled by a rash of corruption charges, the Maharashtra government appears to be headed for deeper trouble. An investigation has unearthed the involvement of thousands of officials and politicians in a decade-old fraud, in which Rs 101 crore of public funds were siphoned off and disbursed to 1.49 lakh bogus beneficiaries. Of the numerous recipients of the dole meant for the destitute, the probe found 19,367 were long dead and 25,484 missing.

The investigation, though incriminating, has placed the government in a quandary. The Bombay high court last month gave the state four weeks to decide on the request for filing of a chargesheet against current medical education minister Vijay Kumar Gavit. Gavit, as the then chairman of a committee in-charge of selecting dole beneficiaries, is accused of having played a role in a part of the fraud many years ago.

If the government agrees to the chargesheet against Gavit, officials pointed out, it will have to do the same against the 13,732 state employees and 7,519 politicians allegedly involved in the scam.

THE DOLE SCAM
• The fraud ran over 10 years
• Rs 101 crore of public funds meant for the destitute, including senior citizens, landless and tribals, were disbursed to 1.49 lakh bogus beneficiaries
• Current medical education minister Vijay Kumar Gavit is among the politicians allegedly involved

Netas blame dole fraud on tehsildars
The exposure of the Rs 101 crore dole fraud in Maharashtra, incidentally, began with another court order. About a decade ago, the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay HC had asked the state to investigate charges of irregularities in the implementation of Sanjay Gandhi Niradhar Yojana, National Senior Citizens’ Pension Scheme and Indira Gandhi Landless Labour Assistance Scheme. The ensuing probe found that, in Nandurbar district, 637 ineligible people were given financial assistance of Rs 4.04 lakh.

In the wake of this, the government issued two orders. On March 4, 2002, then social justice secretary Suresh Kumar asked the Nashik divisional commissioner to initiate criminal proceedings against those involved in the fraud. And, on July 19, 2002, then chief secretary V Rangnathan directed all divisional commissioners to conduct a high-level probe into the implementation of the schemes. Following Suresh Kumar’s directive, the Nandurbar collector lodged a complaint against Gavit, who was the chairman of a committee tasked with picking beneficiaries, and 50 officials, who processed the beneficiaries’ application forms.

Separately, in their findings, the divisional commissioners across the state confirmed rampant irregularities in the selection of dole recipients. The largest number of sham beneficiaries—97,221 —were found in Aurangabad; they were allegedly picked by 1,618 government employees and 1,567 politicians. Next in the fraud list came Amravati (21,039 bogus recipients, picked by 1,912 officials and 812 politicians), Konkan (12,657 sham recipients, chosen by 377 officials and 486 politicians), and Pune (2,405 bogus recipients, selected by 833 officials and 231 politicians).

In all, the divisional commissioners reported, the state lost Rs 101 crore in the fraud. Of this, Rs 8.9 crore was disbursed in the Konkan region, Rs 90 lakh in Nashik region, Rs 1.47 crore in Pune, Rs 14.8 crore in Nagpur, Rs 10.8 crore in Amavati and Rs 63.7 crore in Aurangabad region.

In the Konkan region, it was discovered that six bogus beneficiaries were given assistance in Khetwadi area, which was then represented by senior Congress leader Bhai Jagtap. Similarly, 14 recipients were found in Nagpada area, then represented by Syed Ahmad, who is now the Jharkhand governor; 50 beneficiaries were identified in Dharavi, which was represented by women and child welfare minister Varsha Gaikwad.

Industries minister Narayan Rane argued that politicians cannot be blamed for the systemic embezzlement since they have a limited role to play in the implementation of the schemes. “All the proposals are processed at the lower level and finally approved by the tehsildar. As a formality, they are brought before the committee headed by an elected representative,” Rane said.

TimesView : Stop this loot
This seems to be the latest in a long line of schemes meant to benefit the poor that has been hijacked by netas and babus. No amount of welfare-minded schemes initiated at the top will help people at the bottom of the pyramid if the benefits get channelised outside midway. Strict action must be taken in this case and the government must ensure benefits really trickle down to the intended recipients. It’s unfortunate that there is some remedial action in such cases only when the judiciary steps in or there is exposure by the media.

ANATOMY OF A SCAM
Crores meant for the state’s destitute were allegedly embezzled over a prolonged period

SCHEMES | Sanjay Gandhi Niradhar Yojana, National Senior Citizens’ Pension Scheme and Indira Gandhi Landless Labour Assistance Scheme. Their beneficiaries are chosen at the tehsil level by a committee headed by an elected representative. Application forms are processed by the tehsildar and then submitted before the committee. The beneficiary gets financial assistance of Rs 250 per month. The dole was first Rs 60 per month and then Rs 100, before being hiked to Rs 250

FRAUD | Bogus beneficiaries were given dole AMOUNT SIPHONED OFF | Rs 101 crore

BOGUS BENEFICIARIES | 1.49L, including 19,367 dead people and 25,484 missing

INVOLVED | 7,519 politicians and party workers, who were members of the committees involved in selecting recipients, and 13,732 officials

EXPOSE | In Nandurbar, following a complaint lodged by Congress leader Chandrakant Raghuwanshi, a probe discovered that 637 bogus people were given financial assistance of Rs 4.04 lakh. All the beneficiaries deposited the amount after a criminal case was filed

ACTION PLAY
While the government has issued show-cause notices to 13,732 employees, criminal complaints have been filed against 50 people in Nandurbar district. The state government is now awaiting the outcome of a case pending before the high court

POLITICIAN SPEAK
Most politicians claimed they had a limited role in the process of selecting dole beneficiaries. The exercise, they say, was conducted by tehsildars, who have the network and machinery to verify the beneficiaries.
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