Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in Maharashtra, with speculations that 40 MLAs have extended support to the leader of opposition Ajit Pawar and that he may join hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). However, Pawar clarified that he was not leaving the NCP. The report also mentions an ongoing investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) regarding the illegal allocation of sugar mills and the role of district Co-operative banks in providing loans to them. Ajit Pawar’s alleged involvement in the irregularities in disbursing loans to sugar factories is being investigated, and charges have been levied under sections 120 (B), 420, 467 and 471 of the Indian Penal Code. According to the ED’s charge sheet, there have been irregularities in disbursing loans to sugar factories by Maharashtra State Co-operative Bank (MSCB), which is contrary to the credit management guidelines by NABARD. The report also highlights allegations that Ajit Pawar was involved in a Rs 70,000 crore scam related to inflated project costs in irrigation projects when he was the irrigation minister in Maharashtra during the Congress-NCP government.
Ajit Pawar, a prominent politician from the Indian state of Maharashtra, has been accused of involvement in a multi-crore irrigation scam. The scam allegedly involved irregularities in awarding contracts for irrigation projects at inflated prices during Pawar’s tenure as the irrigation minister in the Congress-NCP government. The allegations also suggest that Pawar cleared cost escalations of 32 irrigation projects worth Rs 70,000 crore. The scam has been under investigation by various agencies, including the Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Enforcement Directorate.
