Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation cartel allegations split BJP wide open

The state government has taken a serious note of the corruption complaint in Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has instructed the principal secretary to take appropriate action against those who are found guilty.

After winning the tussle for power in the cash-rich Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been grappling with factionalism amid intervention by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. The ‘division’ in the party came to fore after member of parliament (MP) Amar Sable accused PCMC standing committee chairman Seema Salve of irregularities in the Rs 425 crore road construction tender allotment.

Shiv Sena MP Shivaji Patil had complained about the same to the chief minister twice and had demanded an inquiry into the tendering process for the construction of roads in areas under the jurisdiction of PCMC. (HT FILE PHOTO)

Sable had approached Fadnavis and had requested him to intervene in the tendering process alleging the presence of a cartel in the tender allotment of road development projects.

Sable accused Salve saying the tenders were being allotted by the civic body keeping in mind the personal interests of its leaders.

“After a long struggle, BJP has come into power on the basis of accountability and transparency, but nearly after one year, the party is changing tracks while allocating work tenders. I have told the CM that tenders are being allocated according to the vested interests of some officials. Following this, CM assured me that he will look into the issue personally,” said Sable.

Reacting to allegations, Salve said certain party leaders are deliberately trying to rake up such issues to be in the news.

Earlier too, the city BJP unit had witnessed a tug of war between MLAs Laxman Jagtap and Mahesh Landge. Later, following the CM’s intervention, the differences were sorted out.