First charge sheet filed in Gosikhurd project

NAGPUR: The anti-corruption bureau (ACB) on Saturday filed a charge sheet on the multi-core Gosikhurd irrigation scam before a designated special court of KG Rathi.

NAGPUR: The anti-corruption bureau (ACB) on Saturday filed a charge sheet on the multi-core Gosikhurd irrigation scam before a designated special court of KG Rathi.

HT Image

“The 6,500-page charge sheet indicts several senior irrigation officials, including the then chief engineer Sopan Suryawanshi, superintendent engineer Sanjay Laxman Kholapurkar, executive engineer Ramesh Wardhane of the Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation (VIDC), the then senior divisional accountant Gurudas Mahadeo Mandavkar, the then executive director, Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation (VIDC), Rohiddas Landge and a private contractor, Nisar Fateh Mohammd Khatri (Mumbai),” said Sanjay Darade, superintendent of police (SP), ACB Nagpur.

All the irrigation officials have now retired. Incidentally, Kholapurkar was officer on special duty (OSD) with the union minister for transport and shipping, Nitin Gadkari, till last month. He was asked to resign when it was learnt that his name figured in the charge sheet.

The ACB booked these people for alleged corruption while executing the Ghodzari canal work for the inter-district Gosikhurd irrigation project, thereby causing huge losses to the state exchequer.

According to Milind Totre, the deputy superintendent of police ACB), who investigated the scam, the ACB had lodged a formal complaint with the Sadar police in February this year regarding the allegations.

Meanwhile, the land acquisition process in Nagpur district for Gosikhurd irrigation project has been completed. A total of 18 hectares has been acquired at Chirua village in Mauda tehsil for rehabilitating Tekepar, the last village to be rehabilitated.

A total of 85 villages — 51 in the Nagpur and 34 in Bhandara districts — were to be rehabilitated. Of these, 49 have been rehabilitated at 34 places. Of the remaining two villages, the administration decided not to rehabilitate Royad as there will be no threat from the reservoir’s water. A proposal has been submitted to the state government to exempt Royad.