Nagpur: Three years after NGO Janmanch again approached the Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court alleging that investigations into the multi-crore irrigation scam that rocked the state in 2012-13 is going on at snail’s pace, all PILs related to it were admitted for final hearing on Wednesday.
A division bench comprising justices Sunil Shukre and Shreeram Modak however directed the respondents to inform on progress of investigations in various offences registered so far related to the scam. While stressing on the need to admit cases, the judges told both parties that they would monitor the progress on a regular basis.
The HC was hearing five PILs related to the scam which were clubbed together. The first one was by Janmanch (PIL No 12/2016) through counsel Firdos Mirza, while the other four were by social worker Atul Jagtap (PIL No 141, 142, 172 & 173/2016) through lawyer Shridhar Purohit.
With the PILs being admitted for final hearing, all preliminary objections raised by the respondents and interveners would automatically come to an end. It also meant that the respondents, which includes the state Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), would have to regularly apprise the court on progress of investigations.
Earlier this year, the Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation (VIDC) moved to Supreme Court challenging HC’s orders of constituting a panel under its retired judges to monitor the progress made by ACB into investigations. The top court had directed the lower judiciary to decide on the case within three months. The case is still pending there.
After Janmanch filed first PIL in 2012, the then advocate general Sunil Manohar made a statement in HC on December 14, 2014 that the ACB was conducting an open enquiry of former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, his close aide and ex-water resources minister Sunil Tatkare and ex-PWD minister Chhagan Bhujbal, in connection with the scam. The statement was made on behalf of CM Devendra Fadnavis. However, when no progress was made for nearly four years, the NGO knocked the judiciary’s doors again.
Janmanch contended that the cost of 38 irrigation projects coming under VIDC rose dramatically by a whopping Rs20,000 crore in just seven months in 2009 — from Rs6,672 crores to Rs26,722 crores. Among them, 30 projects were granted quick approval in just four days and their cost was later revised.
In his PILs, Jagtap alleged massive corruption and irregularities into Jigaon and Lower Pedhi irrigation projects in Buldhana and Amravati districts respectively. He claimed in both projects, the contracts were awarded to Bajoriya Construction Company headed by NCP MLC from Yavatmal Sandip Bajoriya, at the behest of Pawar, who headed the irrigation department, during the Congress-NCP regime.
A division bench comprising justices Sunil Shukre and Shreeram Modak however directed the respondents to inform on progress of investigations in various offences registered so far related to the scam. While stressing on the need to admit cases, the judges told both parties that they would monitor the progress on a regular basis.
The HC was hearing five PILs related to the scam which were clubbed together. The first one was by Janmanch (PIL No 12/2016) through counsel Firdos Mirza, while the other four were by social worker Atul Jagtap (PIL No 141, 142, 172 & 173/2016) through lawyer Shridhar Purohit.
With the PILs being admitted for final hearing, all preliminary objections raised by the respondents and interveners would automatically come to an end. It also meant that the respondents, which includes the state Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), would have to regularly apprise the court on progress of investigations.
Earlier this year, the Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation (VIDC) moved to Supreme Court challenging HC’s orders of constituting a panel under its retired judges to monitor the progress made by ACB into investigations. The top court had directed the lower judiciary to decide on the case within three months. The case is still pending there.
After Janmanch filed first PIL in 2012, the then advocate general Sunil Manohar made a statement in HC on December 14, 2014 that the ACB was conducting an open enquiry of former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, his close aide and ex-water resources minister Sunil Tatkare and ex-PWD minister Chhagan Bhujbal, in connection with the scam. The statement was made on behalf of CM Devendra Fadnavis. However, when no progress was made for nearly four years, the NGO knocked the judiciary’s doors again.
Janmanch contended that the cost of 38 irrigation projects coming under VIDC rose dramatically by a whopping Rs20,000 crore in just seven months in 2009 — from Rs6,672 crores to Rs26,722 crores. Among them, 30 projects were granted quick approval in just four days and their cost was later revised.
In his PILs, Jagtap alleged massive corruption and irregularities into Jigaon and Lower Pedhi irrigation projects in Buldhana and Amravati districts respectively. He claimed in both projects, the contracts were awarded to Bajoriya Construction Company headed by NCP MLC from Yavatmal Sandip Bajoriya, at the behest of Pawar, who headed the irrigation department, during the Congress-NCP regime.
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