CAG indicts Maharashtra government for irregularities in irrigation projects

MUMBAI: The Comptroller & Auditor General ( CAG) has indicted the Maharashtra government for serious cost and time overruns in many incomplete irrigation projects in the state, throwing the under-fire Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and his Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) into further trouble.

CAG criticised the water resources ministry which was headed by Pawar for nine years, between 2000 and 2009.

The observations assume significance since the Congress-NCP government in the state is already under attack for the irrigation scam and reports about the alleged nexus between politicians and the contractors' lobby.

CAG, in its report for the year ended March 2012, said that over 43,000 crore was spent by the water resources department on 426 projects in the state and most of them are still incomplete. Time overruns have stretched up to 40 years for some projects.

According to CAG, in 242 irrigation projects, the initial cost rose to 33,832 crore from 7,215 crore, resulting in a cost overrun of 26,617 crore. The list of projects with cost overruns above 800 crore include Kukdi (overrun is 2,152 crore), Krishna Marathwada irrigation project ( 2,462.55 crore), Lower Dudhna project ( 997 crore), Nandur Madhmeshwar project ( 817 crore), Waghur project ( 1,171crore) and many others.

CAG has said that though many irrigation projects started 45 years back, they are yet to be completed.

The oldest is the Kudki project, which started in 1967 with a completion target of five years (1972), but is not finished yet. CAG's observations come at a time when the Maharashtra government has appointed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by water expert Madhav Chitale to investigate the scam.

The auditor had found irregularities in its earlier reports as well. Just two days back, the Comptroller & Auditor General told the Bombay High Court that it stood by its report that found irregularities in irrigation projects in Maharashtra. In 2011, the government auditor had pointed out several discrepancies in irrigation projects undertaken by the government in the past 10-12 years.