Mumbai:
Although now all is well between the NCP and Congress, one of the main contentious issues between the two allies was the alleged Rs 26,000 crore irrigation scam in Maharashtra. Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan had asked for a white paper on the scam - something that had put the NCP on the backfoot.
And the man at the centre of the alleged scam is Water Resources Minister Sunil Tatkare. His tenure has been marred with controversies. He has been accused of allowing massive cost escalation in projects, spending crores and ending up with hardly any additional irrigated land in Maharashtra.
A PIL filed in the Bombay High Court accuses the 57-year-old minister of amassing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. It claims Mr Tatkare's family members have stakes in 36 companies floated to procure unsecure loans. One such company is Vinamra Universla Pvt Ltd where his children were directors who got a loan of Rs 3,600 crore for an agriculture project. After his children resigned, their Chartered Accountant and a close employee were made directors. This loan was laundered and then used to purchase 1400 acres of land by floating nearly 200 companies and additionally 700 acres of land was bought in Dapoli in Ratnagiri district. The court has now asked him to first file a complaint with the Anti-Corruption Bureau.
As irrigation minister, Mr Tatkare has misused his position and got plots in MIDC area or areas close to agriculture land because of Information which only he had access to. He also made his employees and chartered accountant directors in many companies. "We suspected these companies were floated to launder money," says Rajendra Phanse, the petitioner who is soon going to file a case against the minister with the Anti-Corruption Bureau. "We have just received the order copy from the court and we will soon be filing a complaint with the ACB," added Phanse.
These allegations are backed by the Opposition. "His children are directors in over two dozen companies. These companies are floated to buy agricultural plots. He has amassed huge properties," said BJP leader Kirit Somaiya.
But that's not the only allegation he is battling. Mr Tatkare is also under the scanner in the Adarsh Society scam. CBI sources claim that as Minister of State for Revenue, he helped the society to avail extra FSI that belonged to the city's bus service helping the building add additional floors. With a spate of allegations against him, Mr Tatkare will require more than the deputy chief minister to defend himself especially as CBI sources say they are closely monitoring these alleged scams - something that will worry Mr Tatkare.