Pawar, who was the state's irrigation minister from 1999 to 2010, had been sent a notice by the ACB. The Bombay high court had asked the ACB to set up a special team to investigate allegations of corruption in irrigation projects. Fadnavis has also approved an ACB probe against Pawar and former irrigation minister Sunil Tatkare.
Facing flak over rising crimes in the state, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said that criminal offences had come down in Maharashtra since the BJP- Shiv Sena government took charge.
He said that there was no political interference in the Anti-Corruption Bureau's (ACB) probe in the irrigation scam where former deputy chief minister and NCP leader, Ajit Pawar, is being investigated and added that they would take it to the "logical end."
Pawar, who was the state's irrigation minister from 1999 to 2010, had been sent a notice by the ACB. The Bombay high court had asked the ACB to set up a special team to investigate allegations of corruption in irrigation projects. Fadnavis has also approved an ACB probe against Pawar and former irrigation minister Sunil Tatkare.
"However, analysing crimes based on figures is not correct," said Fadnavis, who is also the state's home minister, adding that the rate of conviction was also vital.
He said that during the previous Congress- NCP regime, the conviction rate was as low as 8 per cent, adding that if criminals felt that they would go unpunished, they would continue committing crimes and "the deterrent effect of laws" would not hold. He added that the rate of conviction was rising; last month count being 38%. The state government is also strengthening its forensic network, he said.
"There is no political interference. The ACB is conducting an impartial inquiry on the basis of evidence. Regardless of the NCP's allegations, we will take the probe into the irrigation scam to the logical end," said Fadnavis.
After allegations of corruption in irrigation projects like undue benefits being granted to contractors had surfaced, Pawar had resigned in September 2012 only to be sworn in again two months later. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has repeatedly pointed to maladministration in the state's irrigation projects.
In 2012, the state's economic survey found that irrigation in Maharashtra had risen by just 0.1% to 17.9% from 2001 to 2010, despite Rs70,000 crore being spent on the sector. This had led the then CM Prithviraj Chavan to assure a white paper on the issue, which led to confrontation with Pawar and the NCP. Later, the state government's white paper on irrigation projects debunked the 0.1% growth claim and said the figure stood at a much higher 5.17%.
Maharashtra has about 450 ongoing irrigation projects with a balance cost of Rs70,750 crore as on April 1, 2014. The state's irrigation coverage is much less than the national average of 45% despite having the highest number of dams in India.
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