Irrigation scam: Uddhav hails Prithviraj Chavan for ordering probe against officials

Mumbai: Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday congratulated Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan for "showing courage" in launching a departmental inquiry against officials of the Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation (VIDC) in the irrigation scam and said it was a "good step forward".

"It is a good thing that the Chief Minister has ordered a probe. But the probe should be taken to its logical conclusion," said Uddhav.

"Chavan has been under tremendous pressure from NCP chief Sharad Pawar and his nephew Ajit Pawar. They even met him but Chavan has stood his ground. We want the inquiry to be indepth which would nail the culprits even if they are ministers. The probe should be time-bound," he added.

He said the Maharashtra CM has shown courage by ordering probe against officials of the Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation.

The Maharashtra Chief Minister has ordered a departmental probe against 45 VIDC officials indicted in the Vadnere Committee report in 2010. The departmental inquiry had been pending for two years.

The engineers, including VIDC's former chief executive director DP Shirke, will now face probe on several counts including having turned a blind eye to government norms while clearing cost escalations, not supervising works on site and not following tender conditions.

The one-man Vadnere committee was set up in March 2010 following complaints and media reports over cost escalations, and official-contractor-politician nexus in approving projects in Vidarbha.

"Congress should not replace the chief minister under NCP's pressure. If that happens, the inquiry will be in the cold storage but we will keep a watch on what's happening in the probe," Uddhav said.

(With additional information from PTI)

(For updates you can share with your friends, follow IBNLive on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest)