Helicopter Purchase Scam: NCP Against Sacking Goa Guv

The NCP today opposed Goa BJP's demand to sack state governor B V Wanchoo stating that no action can be initiated against him in the helicopter purchase scam unless the CBI comes out with specific findings involving him in the case.

"Why should he be asked to resign ? He is just being questioned by CBI. Let them (CBI) come with some findings against him before asking him to resign. BJP is trying to run their political agenda through this demand," NCP Goa Spokesman Trojano D’Mello told reporters here today.

The Goa unit of BJP on Monday had demanded Wanchoo's resignation for being investigated in the AugustaWestland VVIP chopper purchase issue. The CBI intends to question Wanchoo as a witness in the case.

The party had demanded that the governor should step down, or be sacked, if he refuses to quit voluntarily.

"The sudden outburst of the BJP demanding resignation of the governor is a clear indication that the party has lost confidence in Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This also indicates that BJP has not overcome the hangover of being an opposition party," he said.

"What does the local unit of BJP has to do with it ? Let Prime Minister and Central Cabinet take a decision on it. If the BJP is really worried about tainted people in power, they should sack two of its state ministers against whom chargesheets are filed in the courts," D'Mello said.

State Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar and State Sports Minister Ramesh Tawadkar have been chargesheeted in different cases before the court, and their trial is pending.
Courtesy:
Panaji | Jun 24, 2014
FILED ON: Jun 24, 2014 14:59 IST
http://www.outlookindia.com/news/article/Helicopter-Purchase-Scam-NCP-Against-Sacking-Goa-Guv/846216

Drought tourism is in full swing : After Pawar And Chavan, Guv Plans Tour

Mumbai: First it was NCP president and Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar who went on a whistle-stop tour of drought-affected Marathwada. He was followed by chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, who is from the Congress. Now governor K Sankaranarayanan is also planning to interact with people in drought-hit parts of the state in the first week of March.

Amid all the coming and going, the question people are asking is whether these tours, particularly the ones undertaken by Pawar and Chavan, will help the state tackle the worst-ever drought in recent memory or will the visits turn out to be nothing more than a customary annual exercise undertaken because politicians must be seen taking stock of the situation.

Senior bureaucrats from Marathwada felt there was a lack of coordination at all levels and absence of seriousness about the situation among politicians, particularly from the ruling Congress-NCP.

A high-ranking bureaucrat strongly criticized Pawar’s recent comment that the Centre was yet to receive a statement from the state government on the situation.

“We feel that as Pawar has been in state politics for over four decades, instead of making a statement critical of a government in which his own party is a constituent, he should have asked either Chavan or his own nephew Ajit Pawar, who was sitting next to him in many meetings, to submit a memorandum,” a bureaucrat said.

A former chief secretary felt that there was too much of politics in the management of the drought. “Parts of Marathwada have seen severe droughts for the past several years, but it appears that no strong measures have been taken to tackle the situation,” he said. “Both Pawar and chief minister Chavan must fix responsibility on their cabinet members as well as elected representatives.”

Leader of opposition Eknath Khadse also came down heavily on Chavan and Pawar, saying that instead of undertaking tours of drought-affected areas, they must ensure that orders passed by the state government for tackling the situation must be implemented in letter and spirit. Khadse said so far the state had only stayed recovery of power bills and granted fee exemption to school students.

“The stay is on current bills, but the new policy is silent on outstanding bills,” Khadse said. “If Chavan is at all serious, he must immediately grant a stay on recovery of all bills.”

On the fee exemption, Khadse said the government had not done adequate homework before making the announcement.

“Under the Right to Education Act, school students have already been exempted from payment of fees,” he said. “If some schools are charging fees, it’s between Rs 25 and Rs 50. If at all they are keen on granting exemption, students of professional colleges, such as medical and engineering colleges, should be exempted.”

He said it was “shocking” that even workers under the employment guarantee scheme were not paid wages for periods ranging from seven days to a month. “All these issues have been specifically brought to the notice of the CM, but no corrective measures have been taken,” Khadse said.

Times View: Knee-jerk reaction won’t help O ur leaders seem to wake up to the reality of drought every year between December and June and then forget the issue when the rains come. No amount of VIP tours of districts, which can also result in disruption of routine work, will help the state’s drought-prone areas unless there is some serious planning on how to tackle the problem. Dams are nowadays more in the news for cost escalations and controversies. Politicians and bureaucrats need to look at long-term solutions instead of waking up only when the problem is there every year.
Courtesy:
Prafulla Marpakwar TNN
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NCP-Cong war of words over drought donations
Mumbai: The Congress and its ally NCP are at loggerheads again, this time over personal drought donations.

Home minister R R Patil, who is from the NCP, on Tuesday launched a veiled attack on chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, who is from the Congress, for criticizing his move to donate a month’s salary to the CM’s relief fund.

“I have not heard or read what Chavan has said, but if the CM has referred to my contribution for raising drought relief funds as ‘cheap publicity’, then does Chavan mean even gazetted officers of the state government and teachers who have contributed to drought relief are doing it for the publicity,” Patil said while speaking to media persons.

Last week, during the weekly state cabinet meeting, Patil suggested that ruling DF ministers, MLAs and MLCs should forgo a month’s salary for tackling the water crisis in the state. Chavan responded by saying the suggestion would be considered later, if required. On Friday, Patil donated a month’s salary to the CM’s relief fund. Even stategazetted officers agreed to give two days’ salary.

Later, Chavan reportedly said to some journalists that the drought should not be politicized for “cheap publicity”.

The state has spent over Rs 800 crore on drought relief.

• The NCP also criticized MNS chief Raj Thackeray for calling Congress-NCP ministers’ visits to drought-hit areas an “eyewash”.
• State can raise 7k cr F acing a cash crunch amid a drought crisis, the state has been allowed by the Centre to raise Rs 7,000 crore in loans. CM Prithviraj Chavan also indicated on Tuesday that evening power cuts would be scrapped in drought-hit parts.

Courtesy:
Sanjeev Shivadekar TNN
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SCAM IN MAKING: Did not approve 17-acre Worli slum revamp plan: CM

Mumbai: Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan on Wednesday said he had not approved Lokhandwala Infrastructure’s controversial proposal to redevelop a 17-acre slum plot off E Moses Road in Worli.

“There is no question of my sanctioning it,” Chavan told TOI, responding to a report in this newspaper, which said “the decision to issue the Letter of Intent (LOI) by the SRA was taken at the highest political level”. Chavan admitted that he knew that the letter was issued by the authority’s CEO last month. “The LOI was issued to the civic body, and not the developer,’’ Chavan said. “I will ask my officers to find out who applied for the LOI, the civic body or the builder.”

Locals claim that a huge chunk of Jijamata Nagar comprises chawls, and not slums, as claimed by the builder and SRA. D B Realty is also reportedly involved in the project.

On Tuesday, TOI reported that this project was among those stayed by Chavan two years ago when it came to light that select builders were awarded prime slum lands to redevelop under a controversial clause (3K) of the Slum Act. The project will rake in a profit of Rs 8,000 crore for the builder. A NCP leader is reportedly pushing for the project.

The BMC, which owns the land, had earlier urged Chavan to scrap the project and invite bids. “I have asked BMC to propose how it intends to go ahead with it,” he said. Sources said the LOI was full of contradictions. “If the BMC owns the land, why should the SRA ask it to give an NOC for the project,” said a source, adding if Lokhandwala Infrastructure is only implementing the project, as the LOI claims, how was it appointed without inviting bids.

Metro buffer zone: BMC orders probe
A day after lawyer YP Singh alleged that the BMC had turned ablind eye to the construction of two malls in a buffer zone meant to reduce the noise from the Metro railway, the civic building proposal department was asked to conduct a probe and check if permission was given for the buildings. TNN
Courtesy:
Nauzer K Bharucha TNN
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टोल घोटाला : मंत्री जयदत्त क्षीरसागर यांची टोलवसुलीच्या कंत्राटात मनमानी

- शासनाचे कोट्यवधीचे रुपयांचे नुकसान
- न्यायालयाच्या आदेशानंतरही संबंधितांना वाचविण्याचा प्रयत्न
मुंबई, दि. ७ (प्रतिनिधी) - सोलापूर शहर एकात्मिक रस्ते विकास योजनेच्या टोल वसुलीचे कंत्राट देताना या खात्याचे मंत्री जयदत्त क्षीरसागर यांनी आपल्या अधिकाराचा गैरवापर केल्याचा ठपका मुंबई उच्च न्यायालयाच्या खंडपीठाने ठेवला आहे.

स्वामी समर्थ इंजिनीअर्सला आय.आर.डी.पी.योजेअंतर्गत बांधण्यात आलेल्या सोलापूर शहरातील रसत्याच्या टोल वसुलीचे कंत्राट देण्याचा निर्णय महाराष्ट्र राज्य रस्ते विकास महामंडळाने घेतला. या निर्णयाविरुद्ध जयलक्ष्मी कन्स्ट्रक्शनने उच्च न्यायालयात याचिका दाखल करून महामंडळाच्या निर्णयाला आव्हान दिले असता महामंडळाचे अध्यक्ष या नात्याने मंत्री जयदत्त क्षीरसागर यांनी मनमानी पद्धतीचा अवलंब करून ठरावीक ठेकेदाराला कंत्राट देण्याच्या निर्णयामुळे राज्याच्या तिजोरीचेच नुकसान झाले आहे, असा ठपका न्यायमूर्ती दिलीप सिन्हा आणि व्ही. के. तहलरामानी यांच्या खंडपीठाने ठेवत टोल वसुलीचे हे कंत्राटच रद्द करण्यात यावे असे आदेश ६ ऑगस्ट २०१२ रोजी न्यायालयाने दिले आहेत.

न्यायालयाने आदेश दिलेल्या आदेशास सहा महिने लोटल्यावरही संबंधित प्रकरणात दोषी असणारे मंत्री व अधिकार्‍यांवर कोणतीच कारवाई सरकारने अद्याप केली नाही. उलटपक्षी मंत्री जयदत्त क्षीरसागर आणि कंपनीला वाचविण्याचा प्रयत्न शासनाकडून होत केला जात आहे. यामुळे सार्वजनिक बांधकाम विभागातील एक सेवानिवृत इंजिनीअर्स व्ही. डी. कुलकर्णी यांनी त्यासाठी न्यायालयात धाव घेतली असून या प्रकरणी संबंधित खात्याच्या मंत्र्यांनी केलेल्या याचिकेत आपल्यालाही सहभागी करून घेण्यात यावे अशी विनंती त्यांनी केली आहे.  

- बचावासाठी मंत्रीमहोदयांची याचिका
या प्रकरणात महामंडळाचे कोणतेही नुकसान झाले नाही असा दावा न्यायालयाच्या निर्णयानंतर करणार्‍या मंत्री जयदत्त क्षीरसागर यांनी स्वत:च्या बचावासाठी न्यायालयात पुनर्विलोकन याचिका दाखल केली आहे.

- कंत्राटाचे निकष बदलण्याचे अधिकार नाहीत
रस्ते विकास महामंडळाचे उपाध्यक्ष आणि व्यवस्थापकीय संचालक यांनी सर्वाधिक बोलीची निविदा स्वीकारण्याची शिफारस केली होती. मात्र महामंडळाचे अध्यक्षांनी टोल वसुलीचे पॉइंट बदलण्याचे कारण पुढे करून या निर्णयात हस्तक्षेप करत निविदा प्रक्रियाच रद्द केली. एकदा निविदा प्रक्रिया सुरू झाल्यावर कंत्राटाचे निकष बदलण्याचे कुणालाही अधिकार नसल्याचे व्ही. डी. कुलकर्णी यांनी म्हटले आहे.
साभार
http://saamana.com/2013/January/08/Link/Mumbai7.htm

IRRIGATION SCAM : NCP may seek judicial probe to keep SIT at bay

Mumbai: In a politically strategic move, the NCP has decided to submit a proposal for a high-level judicial probe into the multi-crore irrigation scam in the state to chief minister Prithviraj Chavan.

Although Chavan declined comment, a senior Congress minister told TOI on Sunday that the NCP had sought legal opinion on entrusting the probe to a panel set up under the Commission of Inquiry Act to end the weeklong stalemate over the scandal in both houses of the state legislature.

The minister pointed out that six public interest litigations against deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and water resources minister Sunil Tatkare were pending before the Bombay high court, while leader of opposition Eknath Khadse is in the process of filing two more PILs on gross misuse of power and corruption in the irrigation department.

“The NCP fears that the court may order setting up of a special investigation team (SIT) or entrust the probe to the CBI as urged by the petitioners. In that event, the NCP will be at the receiving end. To avoid such a situation, the NCP itself will propose a judicial probe. If the proposal is accepted, then it will inform the court accordingly. In that event, the chances of setting up a SIT will be lower,’’ the minister said. Irrigation white paper has ‘outdated, misleading’ stats

Mumbai: Lies, damned lies and statistics.
The controversial white paper on irrigation projects produced by the state water resources ministry is littered with outdated, confusing and allegedly misleading statistics. Data pertaining to over half a dozen major projects are at least a decade old and widely differ from information submitted by the ministry to the state assembly eight months ago.

Most projects are in drought-prone Vidarbha region. A senior department official said the white paper seems to have exaggerated the irrigation potential and actual land which came under irrigation.

A detailed analysis of the two-volume report released by chief minister Prithviraj Chavan on November 29 shows old data was used to boost figures of land under irrigation.

The discrepancies are glaring, as in the case of the Wan project in Akola district of Vidarbha. The white paper boasts that the irrigated land due to this project is 14,428 hectares. It also admits that this figure is for the financial year 2003-04.

However, the programme estimate booklet presented in the budget session of the state assembly early this year,issilenton theirrigated land and shows it as ‘nil’. “Even if the figures in the white paper are correct, it is misleading to give data whichis a decadeold,’’ sources said. The department has to give updated figures every year, they added.

In the Upper Wardha project in Amravati district, the white paper shows a total irrigated area of 36,119 hectarestill2007-08.On theother hand, the programme estimates booklet pegged the figure at 31,760 hectares in 2010-11. “This is a total farce. The white paper relied on fiveyear-old data. Moreover, the figure in the estimates booklet shows a smaller area under irrigation,’’ department officials said.

The Arunavati project in Yavatmal district is another where major discrepancies have been found.

The white paper pegs the land under irrigation at 10,229 hectares, although the programme estimates booklet gives a figure of 670 hectares as on 2009-11.

Differences in expenditure figures have also been found in the Pench project in Nagpur. While the white paper saidonly Rs293 crorewas spent till March 2012, the estimates booklet pegged it at Rs 323 crore till March 2011.

The length of the right bank main canal of the Gosikhurd national irrigation project also varies in the two government documents. The white paper puts its length at 99 km while the estimates booklet shows it at 107 km. TOI had reported how the white paper claimed the quantum of landbroughtunder irrigation by the Gosikhurd project was 5,279 hectares, but the programme estimates booklet puts the figure at1,582hectares. Similarly, the white paper claimed expenditure on the Gosikhurd project was Rs 6,073 crore, but the programme estimates booklet puts the figure at Rs 6,609 crore.

Interestingly, the white paper does not reveal the actual figures of land under irrigation in western Maharashtra. It only gives the irrigation potential (where canals are ready, but water hasn’t reached fields) these projects have created.

The target irrigation potential of many projects in western Maharashtra is pegged on a lower side in the programme estimates compared to the white paper.

“If figures in the programme estimates booklet are wrong, it will be a fit case for breach of privilege in the assembly,’’ the sources said.

Courtesy:
Prafulla Marpakwar TNN
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIM/2012/12/17&PageLabel=5&EntityId=Ar00105&DataChunk=Ar00501&ViewMode=HTML

ACB seeks nod to probe irrigation minister in irrigation scam

Mumbai: The Anti-Corruption Bureau has sought the state government’s okay to launch an “open inquiry” against irrigation minister Sunil Tatkare over allegations of land grab and disproportionate assets.

A “discreet inquiry” against the senior NCP leader, sources said, is already complete. The ACB now wants authorization for the second stage of the investigation—“open inquiry” —so that it can call for official files and, if required, summon Tatkare for questioning.
“We have forwarded the request to the general administration department. It will follow the usual course (to the concerned department and chief secretary) before landing up at the CM’s table for the final nod,” said a home official.

With the latest appeal, the pending ACB requests for investigating sitting ministers has risen to three.

Discreet inquiry against Congress min nearly over Mumbai: As the Anti-Corruption Bureau sought the state’s nod to probe Sunil Tatkare, the total tally of pending ACB requests for investigating sitting ministers rose to three. The bureau sought a goahead to probe public works minister Chhagan Bhujbal three months ago and medical education minister Vijaykumar Gavit three years ago.

ACB sources said the agency is about to complete a discreet inquiry against a fourth minister: a Congress leader facing allegations for his role in the Coalgate scam. “A requestfor a fourthopen inquiry will be forwarded to the state soon,” said an ACB official.

A close aide of former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, Tatkare is accused of cornering 7,500 acres of farmland by creating front companies. He is accused of misusing his power and authority, as the statewater resources andirrigation minister, to grant arbitrary sanctions for irrigation projects. “I do not want to speak on the matter (either the inquiry or allegations) right now since it is in court,” Tatkare told TOI.

The request on Tatkare is bound to add to the worries of the government as it dithers on the previous two appeals. ACB sleuths said the prolonged official inaction shows lack of political will in the government. As it is, a sanction file needs to travel through a long, winding route—first through the home department to the general administration department to secretaries of the departments concerned to the chief secretary and finally to the chief minister. Worst of all, thereis noindependent mechanism to expedite or assist in the process.

“We expect the government’s nod to ideally come in less than two months, which is enough for the government to study a case properly. Beyond this, if the government takes time, it only shows a deliberate attempt to sit on the inquiry application,” said a senior ACB official.

The permission for a probe against Gavit, sources pointed out, is pending before the state since May 14, 2009. In the case of Bhujbal, the ACB filed the request letter on July 18, 2012, and it is said to have reached the chief minister’s table. “The departments (including the PWD, home and chief secretary) have given their view. It is now awaiting the CM’s green signal,” said an official.
UNDER THE SCANNER
Sunil Tatkare | The NCP leader faces allegations of land grab and disproportionate assets. The opposition says Tatkare and his family cornered 7,500 acres of farmland by creating front companies. The irrigation minister, he is also accused of granting arbitrary sanctions for irrigation projects

Vijaykumar Gavit | The state medical education minister is alleged to have amassed assets beyond his means of income. The properties were bought, it is claimed, in the name of his family members. The ACB sought permission for inquiry on May 14, 2009

Chhagan Bhujbal | The PWD minister is accused of receiving ‘favours’ when he gave out a contract for the construction of Maharashtra Sadan in New Delhi. The ACB sought permission for an open inquiry on July 18, 2012

STEP BY STEP | Rules mandate that the ACB follow these steps while investigating a government official (class I) or minister

Discreet Inquiry | The ACB, upon receipt of a complaint or allegation, conducts a discreet inquiry. It verifies documents without informing the accused person or department. A decision is then taken on whether to further probe the case. All cases do not necessarily undergo a discreet inquiry

Open Inquiry | Once the discreet inquiry is over (or if it is eschewed), an open inquiry is set up. In this, files can be sought from a department and the accused persons asked to present their side. For officials, rules are clear. But for ministers, ambiguity persists on who takes a final call
Sanction For Prosecution | Once an open inquiry is okayed, the ACB can proceed with a full probe, registering an offence and filing of charges. But during this process, it needs a sanction for prosecution from the government

WINDING ROUTE | At present, the power to accord sanction for prosecution of a sitting minister lies only with the chief minister and the governor. A sanction file needs to travel first through the home department to the general administration department to secretaries of the departments concerned, to the chief secretary, and finally to the chief minister. There, however, exists no independent mechanism to assist the process.

Courtecy:
Sharad Vyas TNN http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIM/2012/10/06&EntityId=Ar00106&AppName=1&ViewMode=HTML

महाराष्ट्र में सिंचाई विभाग का 25 हजार करोड़ का घोटाला

प्रमुख संवाददाता॥ मुंबई - बीजेपी ने महाराष्ट्र के सिंचाई विभाग में पिछले 10 साल के दौरान 25 हजार करोड़ का घोटाला होने का आरोप लगाया है। बीजेपी नेता व विधानपरिषद के नेता विपक्ष विनोद तावडे ने मुख्यमंत्री पृथ्वीराज चव्हाण से आग्रह किया कि वे सिंचाई पर श्वेतपत्र जारी करने का अपना वादा पूरा करें और इस मामले में एनसीपी नेताओं के दबाव में नहीं आए।

तावडे ने विदर्भ इलाके की सिंचाई परियोजनाओं को सरकार की वडनेरे समिति की रिपोर्ट दाखिले के तौर पर पत्रकारों के सामने पेश की। समिति के अनुसार, जीगांव सिंचाई परियोजना का 396 करोड़ का टेंडर निकला था, जबकि ठेकेदार को 4044 करोड़ रुपये का भुगतान किया गया। इसी तरह गोसी-खुर्द का 350 करोड़ के टेंडर पर 7700 करोड़, नानी लघु तालाब के 34 करोड़ के टेंडर पर 1567 करोड़ और भिवापुर तालाब के 17 करोड़ के टेंडर पर 1038 करोड़ रुपये का भुगतान सरकार की ओर से किया गया।

उन्होंने दावा किया कि विदर्भ की ही तरह मराठवाडा, कोंकण और पश्चिम महाराष्ट्र की सिंचाई परियोजनाओं की रकम बिना नए टेंडर मंगाए कई गुना बढ़ाकर अदा की गई है। उन्होंने कहा कि करीब 66 हजार करोड़ रुपये खर्च करने के बाद महाराष्ट्र में सिंचाई बमुश्किल 0.1 प्रतिशत की ही बढ़त हो पाई है। उन्होंने सरकारी स्तर पर दाद न दिए जाने पर मुंबई उच्च न्यायालय का दरवाजा खटखटाने की धमकी दी है।

साभार
नवभारत टाइम्स, May 9, 2012
http://navbharattimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/13056250.cms