Maharashtra: ACB told to probe 1,173 Jalyukta scheme works, 6.3 lakh others to be scrutinised by collectors

MUMBAI: The MVA government has asked the Anti-Corruption Bureau to conduct an open inquiry into 1,173 works of the Devendra Fadnavis government’s flagship water conservation scheme, the Jalyukta Shivar Abhiyan (JSA).
It has also directed district collectors to scrutinise another 6.3 lakh works under the scheme and suggest whether they need an open inquiry or departmental probe.
The government’s actions follow the submission of a report on the scheme by a 4-member committee led by retired additional chief secretary Bijay Kumar. The committee was set up after a CAG report passed strictures against the scheme in 2020, saying it was ineffective. The state government then decided to conduct an open inquiry against the works which reported irregularities. The committee was meant to suggest which of the works should face the inquiry.
The Fadnavis government had spent Rs 9,634 crore in five years on the scheme, which was aimed at making the state drought-free. It was wound up by the MVA government in 2020. By then, around 6.33 lakh works had been completed.
The Bijay Kumar committee was asked to scrutinise 1,128 JSA works listed in the CAG report and also 671 complaints on the scheme received by the department. Its role was to suggest which of these needed an open inquiry because the charges were more serious or a departmental probe. It was also asked to recommend probes if needed in the case of any of the other works executed by the scheme. The committee submitted its report in May and recommended that of the 1,128 works listed in the CAG report, 626 cases need an open inquiry and 298 need a departmental probe. It also suggested that of the 671 complaints on works received by government, 305 cases need an open inquiry and 18 a departmental probe.
The state government accepted the report and decided that all the 924 cases that the committee wanted probed from the CAG cases require an open inquiry from the ACB. It also decided that another 249 cases which emanated from complaints received by the government need an ACB probe.
The state also decided that district collectors should scrutinise the remaining 6.31 lakh works undertaken under the scheme according to parameters laid down by the Bijay Kumar committee. The collectors have been asked to suggest whether any of these needed an open inquiry or departmental probe.
The parameters say an open probe should be recommended in cases where there are tender irregularities, state guidelines are not followed resulting in financial losses and misleading information or bills are given. Also, in cases where CSR funds or public donations are appropriated by officials and proper accounts are not maintained.
Responding to the MVA’s decisions, former CM Devendra Fadnavis said, “We welcome the probe. In fact, our government had initiated a probe into 650 JSA works. Clearances for the scheme were given at the level of collector and seven departments were implementing the scheme.”