Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024 | Irrigation scam becomes a poll issue once again

Mumbai: The Rs 70,000-crore irrigation scam has become a burning issue in Maharashtra polls, yet again.

The allegations of corruption were made after an Economic Survey of 2012 stated that the state's irrigation potential had increased by only 0.1 per cent during the past decade even after Rs 70,000 crore was spent on various projects during 1999–2009 when the Democratic Front (DF) including Congress and the undivided NCP were in power.

During this period, the Irrigation/Water Resources Department was headed by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and Sunil Tatkare at different periods.

Former bureaucrat Vijay Pandhare was the whistle-blower exposing the scandal.

As Water Resources Minister, Ajit Pawar had also served as Chairman of Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation (VIDC), which had cleared irrigation projects in which irregularities were alleged.

During the 2014 and 2019 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly polls, the BJP made the irrigation scam a major poll issue to target the DF government as well as NCP leaders including Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar, the now NCP (SP) supremo.

In 2023, ahead of the NCP split, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had alleged Congress and NCP were the most corrupt parties and spoke of the Rs 70,000 crore irrigation scam and the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank scam.

However, Sharad Pawar reiterated by saying that if Modi has specific information that there was abuse of power he should order a probe and submit a report.

But days later, Ajit Pawar switched to the NDA camp and became a Deputy Chief Minister alongside BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis in the government headed by Eknath Shinde.

When Ajit Pawar, during an election rally, said that his late party colleague R R Patil backstabbed him and ordered an open inquiry, the irrigation scam became a poll issue in 2024.

“The file mentioning R R Patil’s remarks ordering an inquiry was shown to me by Fadnavis after he became Chief Minister in 2014…Fadnavis called me to meet him at his home…he showed me the file saying - ‘Your RR Patil has signed this order’,” Ajit Pawar had claimed, adding, “The NCP (undivided) subsequently withdrew the support to the Prithviraj Chavan-led government and the President's rule was imposed….the then Governor refused to sign on the file (for open inquiry) and stated that let the new Chief Minister would do the needful.”

Since RR Patil was a close aide of Sharad Pawar, the statement was also aimed at his uncle.

Prithviraj Chavan, however, decided to stay clear of it. “The file signed by then Home Minister R R Patil never reached me… I never signed the file and did not give a green signal to the open inquiry by the Anti-Corruption Bureau,” Chavan said.

Ajit Pawar, however, became a target again when the NCP (SP) hit out at him.

“Should an honest man like RR Patil keep quiet if he is seeing corruption?” asked Leader of the Opposition in Assembly Vijay Wadettiwar.

“Why has he kept quiet for so long..why did he not speak earlier,” asked NCP (SP)’s Jitendra Awhad.

The Maharashtra ACB, however, has given clean chit to Ajit Pawar when the MVA government was in power.

Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.

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