Days after the Bombay High Court (HC) pulled up the state government and its Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) for ‘casual approach’ in the irrigation scam probe, the state government is now contemplating to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the alleged irregularities and roles of senior bureaucrats and politicians in the case. Meanwhile, the ACB probing the Jigaon irrigation project of Amravati has found that the files concerning the project and its sanction were sent by the former Executive Director (ED), D P Shirke, directly to the irrigation minister (Ajit Pawar), which was in stark violation of norms laid under the Rules of Business. “Under the Rules of Business, the ED should have intimated the Principle Secretary, Water. However, in this case, the files were directly sent to the minister concerned,” said a senior Home department official, who did not wish to be named. “When the ACB quizzed the ED (now retired) on the same, he claimed to have cited certain rules under the Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation (VIDC) Act, 1997, which exempts EDs from informing the secretary when the bid value is only in excess of 5 per cent. The same has been elucidated in the affidavits filed by both the Chief Secretary and ACB before the HC,” added the official. In a related development, the ACB has also written to the Principle Secretary of water department, seeking details on the role of the secretary in general and if the VIDC had consulted the Principle Secretary in the Jigaon case, in particular. “We have sought details on the role of the Secretary under the Rules of Business in general and a few question specific to the case asking if his department was approached by the VIDC while awarding the contracts,” said an official from the ACB, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. ACB’s Amravati unit, which has submitted its final report to ACB chief Vivek Phansalkar, has also written to the state government, seeking prosecution sanction in the Jigaon case against nine government officials, including six who have retired. “Other than the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act, bureaucrats have been booked under certain sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for which sanction from the government to prosecute them is mandated. Earlier this month, we wrote to the government to grant us the sanction to prosecute. Once we get the sanction, we will proceed to file the chargesheet,” added the official. In November last year, the ACB had lodged an FIR against nine government officials and Sumit Bajoriya, director of Bajoriya Construction Company. Bajoriya was considered a close aide of former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar. When asked if the ACB has found any evidence against the minister, the official added they are awaiting the reply from the Secretary. “While so far there is no material evidence implicating the minister in the case, we have written to the Secretary on the point of rules of business and are awaiting his reply,” added the official. For all the latest Mumbai News, download Indian Express App

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