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/

TWIST IN THE TALE: Whistleblower arrested for extortion

Mumbai: Dattaram Pedamkar, who complained of a slum redevelopment project coming up on a plot owned by Nehru Science Centre, was arrested last week by the Tardeo police on charges of extortion. Pedamkar (45), a resident of Mariamma Nagar in Worli, allegedly demanded Rs 20,000 from a Haji Ali hawker Iqbal Shaikh.

Pedamkar was produced before the 4th Girgaum metropolitan magistrate and remanded in police custody till February 9. But in the court, Shaikh filed an affidavit, saying he never made any allegations against Pedamkar.

“Shaikh is an illiterate man. Tardeo police misled him into signing a complaint. We have brought this to the notice of the court but when the latter did not take any cognizance, we filed a writ petition in the high court, saying police registered a bogus case against my client,’’ said Pedamkar’s advocate Yusuf Khan.

Senior inspector of Tardeo police Ajinder Thakur said, “I don’t know why Shaikh retracted the complaint. We filed the FIR on the basis of his complaint in November. Shaikh may be under pressure to withdraw the complaint.’’

Cops alleged that Pedamkar is an extortionist as there are cases against him. But his lawyer alleged that he has been framed because he filed a complaint against a senior officer in the SRA project.

In January, Pedamkar had lodged a complaint in court against former SRA chief Debashish Chakraborty, builder Akshay Sthapatya, his architect Pravin Naik and six others, including SRA officers who had approved the Mariamma Nagar slum scheme, adjoining the National Sports Complex. Pedamkar said he learned of this when the Nehru Science Centre, in response to his query under the Right to Information Act in 2011, said they had not granted any no-objection certificate. They have been charged with cheating, forgery, breach of trust and projecting false documents as true.

Pravin Naik said Nehru Centre owns the plot. “There was a consent term between Nehru Centre and Akshay Sthapatya to construct a building on the corner of the plot measuring 2233.76 sq m. “Accordingly, construction plan was approved by SRA in which 15% of the area was agreed to be given to Nehru Centre, so all Pedamkar’s allegations are false. Nehru Centre has given NOC for the SRA project.’’
COURTESY:
S Ahmed Ali TNN
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIM/2013/02/15&PageLabel=13&EntityId=Ar01302&ViewMode=HTML