Ajit Pawar’s old claim on irrigation row adds fresh twist to Maharashtra politics

Speaking in Pune amid growing friction between his Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and BJP ahead of civic polls, Pawar alleged that irrigation projects during the Sena-BJP regime were deliberately cost-inflated to generate party funds

Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar on Tuesday revived allegations of corruption linked to irrigation projects during the 1995–99 period when Maharashtra was ruled by the Shiv Sena–BJP government with Manohar Joshi as the chief minister.

Referring to the Purandar irrigation project, Pawar said he still possesses a file of documents to support his claims. (HT)

Speaking in Pune amid growing friction between his Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and BJP ahead of civic polls, Pawar alleged that irrigation projects during the Sena-BJP regime were deliberately cost-inflated to generate party funds.

Referring to the Purandar irrigation project, Pawar said he still possesses a file of documents to support his claims.

“I refused to clear the project,” Pawar said, claiming that a reassessment showed the work could be completed for ₹220 crore. “Extra ₹110 crore was added intentionally — ₹100 crore for party funds and ₹10 crore for officials,” he alleged.

Pawar argued that approving such inflated estimates would have placed a heavy financial burden on the state exchequer. He said legal action at the time could have triggered a major political upheaval in Maharashtra.

Ironically, it was during his subsequent tenure that allegations of the large-scale irrigation scam — estimated at around ₹70,000 crore — surfaced, an issue BJP has repeatedly used to target Pawar over the years.