Click to play videoNew Delhi/Patna: While his son Saravajot Singh was granted bail on Thursday, troubles don’t seem to end for National SC/ST Commission Chairman Buta Singh.
The noose is tightening on Buta even as his ongoing stand-off with the CBI in the bribery case continues.
He has now been put under the scanner by the Bihar government for his alleged role in commissioning the Bagamati river embankments that collapsed recently.
The state government has ordered a high-level probe into the allotment of the Rs 900-crore project for construction of embankment along Bagmati river to an "undeserving" firm.
The embankment was breached on August 1 in Sitamarhi, rendering many homeless.
Buta is now being accused of giving the contract to a firm which did not have any prior experience. The state government wants to know if Buta did this for favours.
"We have ordered a probe. We will go in the details of the contract of the bridge,” said Bihar CM Nitish Kumar.
Buta Singh was the Governor of Bihar in 2005 and his tenure was controversial in many other ways as well. He was accused of not allowing Nitish Kumar to stake claim to form the government first time in 2005.
His decision of asking for President's rule led to him being rapped by Supreme Court – embarrassing the Congress.
For Nitish Kumar, therefore, ordering a probe against Buta is almost like sweet revenge, coming at a time when Buta is being disowned by the Congress as well.
The latest revelations could make the road ahead even more difficult for the one-time close confidante of the Gandhi family.
For the past one week, Buta has been busy fire-fighting the CBI. His son Saravajot was put under custody for allegedly demanding bribe from a Nashik builder to dilute cases against him in the SC/ST Commission.
Buta cried foul and claimed it was an attempt by his political rivals to throw his “spotless” career off track.
Official sources said the Rs 900 crore project for strengthening and construction of the embankment was to be executed in three phases, which included expenditure of Rs 9 crore on repairing the existing structure for countering floods in the first phase.A sum of Rs 135 crore, under the project, was earmarked for construction of embankments to protect parts of Sitamarhi district from floods in the second phase. In the third phase, Rs 756 crore was allotted for the works on embankments in the lower trench of the river up to neighbouring Samastipur district, the sources said. After completion of the first phase work, the HSCL began execution of the second phase for which the state government has already paid Rs 80 crore, sources said. The sources said that despite adverse notes by the then Development Commissioner G S Kang and Planning Commissioner B K Verma on the subject related to awarding the work without floating a tender, the then Chief Secretary K A H Subramaniam overruled the objections on the plea that the work was being allotted on nomination basis. Stating that the probe panel would be asked to submit its report within a specified time-frame, the minister said, "We may then take suitable legal steps, if required”. The state government would get everything examined with an open mind and without any prejudice, he said. . |
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