Jaipur: Rajasthan's Principal Secretary of Mines, Ashok Singhvi, was the mastermind of a mine allocation racket worth crores that came to light with his arrest, say officials of the Anti-Corruption Bureau.
Mr Singhvi was arrested last week on charge of running a huge extortion racket - first ordering the closure of mines then pocketing huge sums to reopen them. Now it appears that he was the principal mover behind hurried allocation of mines, sources say.
The opposition Congress has alleged that in 2014, 650 mines were allocated in the state -- 400 of them in December before a new auction regulation could come into place. All had happened during the stewardship of Mr Singhvi.
Former Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot said the process should be examined, especially after the Centre's advisory last October, saying mines should be auctioned after a gazette notification.
"There are numerous examples of a deep rooted corruption that goes all the way to the top. I can tell you of certain cement blocks that were allocated eight days before a new regulation on allocation came into place," Mr Gehlot told NDTV. "All this should be investigated."
Over the last three decades, the policy of mines allocation has allegedly benefited a large number of politicians, cutting across the political divide. More than 200 present and past politicians are involved in mining.
"There is no law which prevents a politician or a legislator from having a business or doing something to earn his livelihood," said the state's Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rajendra Singh.
Mr Singhvi was arrested last week on charge of running a huge extortion racket - first ordering the closure of mines then pocketing huge sums to reopen them. Now it appears that he was the principal mover behind hurried allocation of mines, sources say.
The opposition Congress has alleged that in 2014, 650 mines were allocated in the state -- 400 of them in December before a new auction regulation could come into place. All had happened during the stewardship of Mr Singhvi.
Former Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot said the process should be examined, especially after the Centre's advisory last October, saying mines should be auctioned after a gazette notification.
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"There are numerous examples of a deep rooted corruption that goes all the way to the top. I can tell you of certain cement blocks that were allocated eight days before a new regulation on allocation came into place," Mr Gehlot told NDTV. "All this should be investigated."
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Over the last three decades, the policy of mines allocation has allegedly benefited a large number of politicians, cutting across the political divide. More than 200 present and past politicians are involved in mining.
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"There is no law which prevents a politician or a legislator from having a business or doing something to earn his livelihood," said the state's Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rajendra Singh.
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