Suvendu Adhikari alleges Rs 15,000 crore revenue leak in Birbhum under TMC rule, accuses Mamata of complicity

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Friday alleged an approximate Rs 15,000 crore revenue leak in Birbhum district alone over the past 15 years, and said it would not have been possible without the support of the previous Mamata Banerjee dispensation.

Addressing a press conference at the state secretariat here, Adhikari claimed the racket, centred around absconding stone trader Mohammad Nazibuddin alias Tullu Mondal, could not have operated for years without political patronage and institutional support.

Multiple government departments were either complicit or remained silent on the directions from the "highest level", he alleged.


"It is impossible for such a large racket to have operated for so long without the support of former chief minister Mamata Banerjee," Adhikari alleged and flagged that Mondal had accumulated 242 vehicles, 21 properties and 300 bighas of land over the years as per police findings so far.

"The siphoning of Rs 1000 crore from one item (stone trade) in one area means the government, which ran the state over the last 15 years, is responsible for Rs 15,000 crore annual revenue loss from a single district. We will dredge out the main beneficiary of this pilferage, and for that we will leave no stone unturned," he added, reposing his confidence in the Bengal police to get the job done.

His allegations came against the backdrop of the Birbhum police recovering Rs 28.5 crore in cash and 15 kg of gold from the residence of Minar Mondal, a relative of Tullu, in Mohammad Bazar area of the district on Wednesday.

The haul resulted in total wealth recovery of about Rs 50 crore, as part of a wider crackdown against alleged illegal mining and revenue leakages in the district.

Police suspect a substantial portion of the cash represented revenue allegedly siphoned off. The district has long been under the scanner over allegations of illegal quarrying and organised crime linked to the stone trade.

Targeting his predecessor Mamata Banerjee, Adhikari said, "An organised racket siphoning off revenue for years... cannot function without the concurrence of the head of the institution."

"If directions did not come from the highest level, no one would take a look at Mondal. Officials were forced to keep their eyes closed. As the then head of the government, the ultimate responsibility lies with the former chief minister," he told the press conference.

The racket flourished also with active involvement of the administration with the land registration office, motor vehicles department, local police and panchayat, state mineral development corporation and the state land department acting as accomplices in the crime, Adhikari alleged.

He said, "Institutional corruption happens only when the head of the institution encourages corruption... I had been saying that while Rs 100 crore went to the government treasury, Rs 1,100 crore was being siphoned off."

The CM said that money could have been used to build hospitals, schools and create employment for lakhs of youths.

Contrasting the previous dispensation's performance with that of his government, Adhikari said while annual revenue from the stone sector during the earlier regime was between Rs 60 crore and Rs 80 crore, the state earned Rs 83 crore between May and June this year, soon after the BJP came to power.

He said the monthly revenue generation was now approaching Rs 100 crore.

The chief minister said the ongoing crackdown against alleged illegal mining and revenue leakages had resulted in the recovery and attachment of substantial assets linked to Mondal and his associates.

Besides the Rs 50 crore wealth recovery, Tullu Mondal's bank accounts containing Rs 93 crore have been frozen, Adhikari said.

Police also seized Rs 53 lakh in cash besides gold, silver and platinum jewellery during subsequent raids.

Investigators have traced 21 properties, including seven houses, one farmhouse, a brick kiln, two petrol pumps, three stone mines, two crushers, a parking facility and nearly 300 bighas of land, all of which are under the process of seizure, the chief minister informed reporters.

Adhikari said authorities have also identified and seized 242 vehicles, including trucks, dumpers and luxury cars.

He estimated that assets worth around Rs 150 crore, including cash, gold, jewellery and other properties, had already been seized and would be auctioned in accordance with the law.

While Minar Mondal, from whose residence Rs 50 crore was seized, was arrested, police have detained for questioning five people who were on Tullu's payrolls and managing his assets, the CM said, adding that the prime accused may have fled the country in the aftermath of the assembly election results.

Citing inputs from the finance department, the CM said the state's revenue has increased by 12 per cent over the corresponding period last year within 11 weeks of the new BJP assuming office and hoped for a 20 per cent increase by the end of the current financial year.

He praised the Birbhum police and DGP Siddh Nath Gupta for their tireless effort in dismantling the racket.

"We have begun getting results. Such operations are normally carried out by competent organisations like the ED and CBI. But when was the last time that Bengal police held such a crackdown?" he said.