Nagpur: A CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General) report has accused former Chief Minister and current Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis of major corruption in the Nagpur Metro project. The report questions why the same company was awarded a contract for the Sitabuldi Metro Station in Nagpur despite not completing the previous work satisfactorily.
Referring to the CAG report on Nagpur’s Metro project, Jayant Patil, leader of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Sharad Pawar faction, sharply criticized the administration during a discussion on supplementary demands in the Assembly on Friday.
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The work on Sitabuldi Metro Station in Nagpur is still incomplete, yet the same company was given an advance worth crores of rupees. The CAG report states that an advance payment was made two months before the contract was set to expire in 2018. The Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) knew the company was failing in its duties but still allowed the contract to extend for another year. Jayant Patil questioned why the administration is being so lenient with this company.
In December 2017, the work for the construction of Sitabuldi Metro Station was withdrawn from ISFL (name of the company). Despite a one-year delay in terminating the contract, there was no impact on the progress of the work, and MMRCL could not encash the bank guarantee. The delay in terminating the contract led to the declaration of commercial operations in March 2019. This resulted in several rule violations, costing the Maharashtra treasury crores of rupees in penalties. Jayant Patil questioned the exact actions taken against such contractors and who is supporting these contractors.
“This is actually the Deputy Chief Minister’s dream project. The Deputy Chief Minister was monitoring this project from top to bottom. I am puzzled as to how this corruption occurred despite that. There have been numerous irregularities in this Metro project, but I am highlighting only a few points,” Jayant Patil said, mentioning Devendra Fadnavis and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari by name, which prompted an objection from BJP MLA Ashish Shelar.
Shelar insisted that names of those not present in the Assembly should not be mentioned, and if names of present members are mentioned, they should be notified before speaking. Following this, BJP leaders became aggressive and created a ruckus.
