Congress, NCP allege irregularities in Shivaji memorial project

The Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Tuesday alleged irregularities in the Shivaji memorial being built in in Arabian Sea, alleging flouting of the

The Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Tuesday alleged irregularities in the Shivaji memorial being built in in Arabian Sea, alleging flouting of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) guidelines, reduction in the height of the statue and area acquired for the project. The Opposition parties produced copies of letters written by the officials attached to the office of Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and appointed to oversee the project.

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Congress and NCP spokespersons Sachin Sawant and Nawab Malik addressed a joint press conference on Tuesday and demanded a judicial probe in the project, which is currently halted owing to the Supreme Court orders. The duo also alleged political bosses in the government were pressuring officials from the departments concerned to release payment to contractors for expenditure that arose after the project was stalled.

BJP state unit chief and public works department minister Chandrakant Patil rubbished the allegations saying the Opposition parties are accusing the government of corruption out of frustration.

The Opposition parties alleged that to reduce the project cost and bring it to the tender price, the state government negotiated with lowest bidder Larsen & Toubro, who had quoted the project cost at ₹3,826 crore. While reducing the cost and bringing it to ₹2,500 crore, the government reduced the area to be acquired, height of the statue, which is a violation of the CVC guidelines. The height of the statue was reduced to 75.7m from the original proposal of 83.2m and the height of the sword was increased to 45.5m from the proposed height of 38m. The total height of the project is 212m, including pedestal. “The area of the memorial was reduced to 12.8 hectares from the original proposal of 15.6 hectares to reduce the price of the project,” said Sawant.

Sawant and Malik cited two letters allegedly written by two successive divisional accounts officers who were overseeing the project. In his letter, the officer reportedly pointed at the ‘irregularities and deviation’ from the original tender conditions. He allegedly took strong objections over keeping key officials out of the loop during scrutiny, negotiations and signing the agreement with the contractor. “Compromising original scope of work, change in the specification during the negotiation with the bidder is against the fair tendering process and violated the CVC guidelines and Maharashtra Public Works manual,” the letter stated.

The subsequent divisional accounts officer, too, demanded an audit by an accountant general’s office. In the letter, written to the senior accounts officer in principal accountant general in February, the officer reportedly said, “I am in a dilemma whether to continue with the irregularities mentioned by my predecessor or to continue with the progress of the project. There may be pressure from the higher authority for payment to the contractor and in such a condition it is difficult for me to differentiate between right and wrong.”

Sawant also alleged the officials made the complaints to their bosses in CAG as they were being pressured to release the amount to the contractor. “The project has been stalled since January, but there is constant pressure on officials to release ₹80 crore to the contractor to which the officials have raised strong objections,” he claimed.

Malik said that the opposition parties will first lodge complaints with the CVC and then move the court if the need be.

Chandrakant Patil, in his response, has said, “After consultation with the project management consultant, the height of the statue was fixed at 121.8m and pedestal at 88.8m. In fact, we reduced the height of pedestal and increased the height of the statue. This has been time and again clarified by CM Devendra Fadnavis, but the opposition is targetting us out of frustration. The opposition could not do anything during 15 years of their power for the project. It was only after we assumed the power, all permissions were obtained and work began.”