BJP slams MVA move to probe Jalyukta Shivar Yojana

Mumbai: The opposition state Bharatiya Janata Party slammed the decision of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government to set up a committee for an open probe into former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' pet scheme Jalyukta Shivar Yojana (JSY), here on Wednesday.

Leader of Opposition (Council) Pravin Darekar said the MVA government is making a pathetic attempt to declare the JSY scheme a failure.

"However, the probe with mala fide intentions will not make any difference," Darekar remarked, while other leaders termed the MVA move as a witch-hunting to cover up its own failure.

Nearly two months after it announced its plans for probing the JSY, the state on Tuesday notified a four-member committee headed by former Additional Chief Secretary Vijay Kumar to conduct the open inquiry into alleged scams in the scheme.

Following strong observations by the Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG) report, the state government on October 14 ordered the probe, and the panel will submit its findings in six months besides a status every month.

Among other things, the CAG had said the JSY had little impact on achieving water neutrality and increasing groundwater level after spending a massive amount of around Rs 9,634 crore.

The commission will hold its open inquiry into 1,120 works in 120 villages that were studied by the CAG, besides more than 600 complaints received since 2015, and suggest further steps in the matter.

The then BJP-led-government had selected 2,586 villages for the JSY under which some 6.41 lakh works were taken, of which 6.30 lakh or 98 per cent were completed.

In 83 of the 120 villages audited by CAG, insufficient storage facilities were created considering the requirements of water for drinking and irrigation purposes, and other points were highlighted in the audit.