Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti
11,Trisaran ,Khamala ,
vjasamiti@gmail.com,vidarbhatimes.blogspot.com,mobile-09422108846
Ref-VIDC SCAM -NGP- 2010 urgent Dated- 15TH December 2010
TO,
Shri Eknathrao Khadase(M.L.A.)
Hon’ble Leader Opposition,
Winter Session Camp,
Civil Lines,
Nagpur-440 001
Ref –multi thousand crore scam in Mihan and VIDC irrigation contracts (Detail Media Reports Reproduced)
Sub: Ongoing farmers suicides & Mega scam in vidarbha and opposition’s salient these issues
Respected sir,
Winter session in Nagpur, it is expected that vidarbha issues of agrarian crisis, developments and mega scams in developments projects are in focus of the discussion but even the vidarbha crisis has been blown up ,opposition till today failed to discuss any major issue seriously moreover issues related Adarsha, Lavasa and BMC was discussed with much more vigor and zeal and there was complete apathy from opposition to focus the issues of vidarbha that’s painful part to write this letter to you,
When
| | Name | Place | District |
| 1 | Tulsiram Amba Pawar | Shivani | Yavatmal |
| 2 | Narayan Ingole | Gujari | Yavatmal |
| 3 | Shrikrishnna Pandit | Dudhana | Washim |
| 4 | Sukhdeo Dhale | Mugawani | Yavatmal |
| 5 | Syad Javed | Sawar | Yavatmal |
| 6 | Hivraj Kore | Kanori | Gondia |
| 7 | Ashok Honghot | Yekurna | Amaravati |
| 8 | Pramod Shende | Keshari | Gondia |
| 9 | Haribhau Kautale | Saral | Yavatmal |
| 10 | Dadarao Pawar | Sirasgoan | Yavatmal |
| 11 | Nagorao Jawanjal | Mohadi | |
| 12 | Pravin Lande | Tiwasa | Amaravati |
| 13 | Khatu Bhoyar | Salesahari | |
| 14 | Ravindra Khoke | Deheggoan | Yavatmal |
| 15 | Keshav More | Belkhed | Washim |
| 16 | Roshan Gedam | Kurandi | Gondia |
When we were asking ministers including chief minister and his deputy chief minister to visit single house of these farmers to know the reason of suicides ,we thought very active opposition leader like you will visit house of this ill fated farmer’s family but nobody from opposition failed to do so.
When
When stormy discussion on Adarsha and Lavasa was taken up in the house we thought issues of mega corruption in prime minister farmers relief package for vidarbha will certainly be main discussion and issue multi thousands crore land scam in star project of Maharashtra ‘Mihan cargo hub project’ will be matter of one stormy discussion but this has been never came as serious issue other than written answers from the Govt.
Even leading news papers ‘HItavada and Time of India’ run the special stories which are reproduced here
QUOTE
HITAVADA Report on 1st day winter session
*Mihan-Land Scam-Indicted by CAG, R C Sinha now drags Vilasrao’s name in Satyam land deal
** Emboldened by inaction by Govt, Oppn, MADC now questions veracity of CAG report
***‘In controversial Satyam land deal. Emboldened by failure of opposition and State Government to take any action despite CAG strictures’-Hitavada
Staff Reporter
Inaction by Govt and Opposition
STRANGE are the ways of babudom. While accepting bouquets they are on the forefront but the brickbats are promptly shifted to others. Adopting the same principle R C Sinha, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC), indicted by Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) for extending undue benefit of Rs 20.21 crore to Satyam Computer Services Limited by sale of land at lower rates, has now dragged the name of then Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh in controversial Satyam land deal. Emboldened by failure of opposition and State Government to take any action despite CAG strictures, the MADC in a sworn affidavit has questioned even the very basis of CAG report chiding MADC for allotting cheap land to Satyam.
The CAG report, tabled in the budget session of Maharashtra Assembly in April 2010, had blamed MADC bosses for causing massive loss to the State Government and indicted them for granting an "undue benefit" of Rs 20.21 crore to Satyam Computer Services Limited (SCSL). The "First come First serve" basis which attained notoriety in 2G spectrum scam, was also used by MADC while allotting land to Satyam only to invite stringent criticism from CAG.
The CAG has clearly observed that "The Company (MADC) had not formulated any policy for concessional allotment of land as an "early bird" incentive. Formulation of such a policy was necessary to ensure fairness and transparency in the Company’s sale of land policy." However, the MADC maintained that "Board of Directors of the MADC had taken a decision to allot land at a concessional rate to early birds/applicants."
Apparently to get over the CAG indictment, the MADC bosses have now dragged the name of then Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh (who was ex-officio Chairman of MADC) to claim that allotment of land to Satyam was considered by Board of Directors on December 5, 2005. "In the said meeting 9 members of the Board of Directors of the MADC were present which included the Hon’ble Chief Minister of
Technically, this may be correct. But in reality, Sinha has been the actual mover and shaker in all matters as regards MADC, which is a common knowledge and confirmed by MADC in its own affidavit.
The MADC affidavit narrated in detail efforts taken by R C Sinha to woo investors for MIHAN-SEZ but conveniently passed the buck to entire Board headed by then Chief Minister, obviously to get rid of CAG indictment to absolve Sinha from any direct responsibility.
The affidavit also gives a great detail about pains taken by Sinha to convince some of the leading IT industries like
After hectic parleys and convincing Satyam that "the MADC is not selling only the land but is selling the infrastructure," the MADC pursued the matter with State Government and finally the land allotment to Satyam was considered by Board of Directors headed by ex-Officio Chairman and then Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh. "After due deliberation and consideration, it was unanimously decided at the said Board Meeting dated December 5, 2005 that M/s Satyam be allotted land admeasuring 100 acres on a concessional rate of Rs 18 lakh per acre," the MADC has claimed.
Due to spillway of Telhara tank the roads were realigned and re-demarcated and remaining residual strip of 28.06 acre was offered to Satyam at Rs 22.35 lakh per acre since "no other industry would be interested in the residual strip of 28.06 acres," the MADC had claimed by way of justification.
Unfortunately for MADC and its bosses, the CAG had already refused to accept this feeble justification and tersely observed "allotment of additional land to Satyam Computers without the approval of Board of Directors was not justifiable in the absence of a policy regarding concessioal allotments." The affidavit has now tried to discredit CAG’s observation by claiming approval to early bird offer by Board of Directors on a non-disclosed date.
Incidentally, Sinha was Chairman of Maytas Infra Limited (a sister concern of Satyam promoted by the now incarcerated Ramlinga Raju) and hence the matter became all the more serious for clash of interest and allotment of prime land to Satyam. Sinha remained non-Executive Director and Chairman of Maytas Infra Ltd till January 2009 and tendered resignation of directorship and chairmanship of the company after the Satyam scandal rocked the country and its founder Ramalingam Raju was arrested for the biggest corporate fraud.
Expressing total ignorance about alleged link between M/s Satyam and M/s Maytas, the MADC has now claimed "On December 5, 2005, M/s Satyam and M/s Maytas were distinct and different entities and no one, including R C Sinha, knew about the alleged link between M/s Satyam and M/s Maytas. The alleged link was disclosed for the first time somewhere around January 2009."
MIHAN
============
Printed from
Times of
Gadkari man Sancheti has Maharashtra govt link too-Milked state for irrigation Rs 2,000 crore contracts-Times of
Shishir Arya & Ashish Roy, TNN, Dec 3, 2010, 02.40am IST
Documents collected under RTI Act by Arunkumar Sampat, a contractor with Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation, reveal the promoters of Sancheti group used a dead company to corner more contracts by bypassing the norms. Interestingly, prominent builder Avinash Bhosale had also allegedly colluded with them in bagging multi-crore contracts.
Insiders say the fraud could be worth at least Rs 2,000 crore with the Sanchetis using fraudulent means to bag irrigation projects. The VIDC was headed by the current deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar in his capacity as the irrigation minister in the previous government.
The Sanchetis have also been in the news recently for the manner in which they bagged flats in Mumbai's Adarsh Housing Society.
Clever Sancheti milked state for irrigation contracts
Until now Ajay Sancheti was known to have only a BJP connection after being invited to be on the party's national executive by its president Nitin Gadkari last year. However, documents now with TOI indicate that he also has close links with the current Democratic Front state government which comprises the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party.
Insiders feel that the fraud could be worth at least Rs 2,000 crore with the Sanchetis using fraudulent means to bag irrigation projects from the Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation (VIDC). This was being headed by the current deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar in his capacity as the irrigation minister in the previous government.
Documents collected under the RTI Act by Arunkumar Sampat, who too is a VIDC contractor, reveal that the promoters of the Sancheti group made a dead company come alive which became the means of cornering more contracts by bypassing the norms. Interestingly, Cidco scamster and prominent builder Avinash Bhosale had also colluded with them in bagging multi-crore contracts.
The Sanchetis have also been in the news recently for the piquant manner in which they bagged flats in Mumbai's Adarsh Housing Society. While one is in the name of Ajay Sancheti's driver Sudhakar Madke, a second is in the name his cousin Paramveer who is a student in the
Ten months after complaints of alleged corruption in VIDC were filed by the Mumbai Marathi Patrakar Sangh and Shiv Sena's Suresh Gambhir, a former MLA from Mahim in Mumbai, the state water resources department began an enquiry about two months back. It is yet to be concluded.
"An enquiry is being conducted by three chief engineers of the VIDC in the Sancheti matter," said C S Modak, the executive director of VIDC.
"It's a blatant fraud, Sancheti should be blacklisted by the VIDC," said Sampat.
The Sancheti group, which is a leading player in Vidarbha region in construction, mining and power sector, is one of the main contractors with the VIDC. The corporation rules state that no single firm can hold more than three contracts simultaneously. Though this has been in existence for at least 10 years, the VIDC recently changed the rule which was only in force to ensure that contractors can complete existing projects before starting on a new one.
In a bid to gain more contracts, the Sanchetis adopted an ingenious method. After bagging contracts in the name of Shaktikumar M Sancheti Ltd, the firm changed its name to SMS Infrastructure Ltd. If the promoters change the name of their company then the entity with the previous name ceases to exist. However, this did not happen in case of the Sanchetis.
Both companies continued to exist and bag VIDC contracts, far exceeding the upper limit of three.
On November 28, 2005, the registrar of companies issued Shaktikumar M Sancheti Ltd a fresh certificate of incorporation with SMS Infrastructure Ltd as the name. This new company continued to have the same VIDC contractor registration number - 1083. Even though the Sanchetis intimated the VIDC about the change of name in 2006, they continued to bag contracts in the old name too. A project-wise intimation has to be submitted to the corporation.
The VIDC too did not see anything wrong in both Shaktikumar M Sancheti Ltd and SMS Infrastructure Ltd, the group's current name, bagging contracts. It also issued contractor registration certificates to the former on March 14, 2007 as well as the new firm on July 23, 2007. The two firms continued to be awarded different contracts.
Ajay Sancheti, however, told TOI that there was nothing hanky-panky in the bagging of projects. "Since the work orders are issued by different executive engineers of VIDC, they took varying time to incorporate the changes," said Ajay Sancheti, who is the MD of SMS Infrastructure Ltd.
"Many a time, the engineers continued to issue cheques and other documents in the name of Shaktikumar M Sancheti Ltd even though we had changed the name of the company," he added.
A VIDC officer, preferring anonymity, told TOI that this irregularity would not have been possible without the connivance of the top brass of the corporation. "Not only did the two firms continue to bag contracts, they also formed joint ventures with different companies and bagged more contracts in the name of the JVs," the officer added.
Sanchetis formed joint ventures in the name of both Sancheti Infrastructure Limited and SMS Limited. The former tied up with Mumbai-based M/S N Thakkar Construction Private Limited and the latter with another Mumbai-based firm D Thakkar Construction Private Limited. Incidentally, a number of directors are on the board of both the Mumbai firms.
The first partnership deed between Shaktikumar M Sancheti Limited and SN Thakkar was executed on November 14, 2005 just a fortnight before it changed its name to SMS. The SMS-D. Thakkar deed is dated December 4, 2008.
However, even in 2007, when Shaktikumar M Sancheti did not exist anymore, a partnership deed was forged with SN Thakkar for taking up another VIDC contract. As per VIDC rules, a fresh joint venture has to be formed to bid for each contract.
In this manner, the Sanchetis bagged six projects in partnership with the Thakkars. One job was awarded to SMS Infrastructure on its own and another to a joint venture of Shaktikumar Sancheti Ltd and Soma Enterprise Ltd headed by Avinash Bhosale.
On this, Sancheti responded with a very vague "I don't have the details". "My director Dilip Surana is away for a couple of days," he said.
The Thakkars too have been indicted in a separate VIDC enquiry for circumventing corporation rules. The enquiry officer found that two out of four directors in SN Thakkar Construction and D Thakkar Construction - Pravin Thakkar and Jigar Thakkar - were the same. He concluded that it amounted to the same company bagging two offers. Even though the enquiry report was submitted in March this year, no action has been taken so far.
UNQUOTE
PRAYER
Honorable leader of opposition is kindly requested to arrange to raise the issue reported by Times of India’s (published on 3rd December 2010) shocking report on Rs.2000 crore irrigation VIDC contract scam in Prime Minister Vidarbha Relief Package and issue of state ATR in CAG report on mega land scam in MIHAN Nagpur reported by HITAVADA ,NAGPUR
Thanking you,
Yours faithfully
KISHOR TIWARI
President
Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti
vidarbhatimes.blogspot.com,
mobile-09422108846
1 comment:
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