Fadnavis in spot as Pankaja, Tawde face fresh graft charges

Shiv Kumar

Tribune News Service

Mumbai, June 30

Two ministers in the Devendra Fadnavis-led Maharashtra Government already under fire for alleged wrongdoings now face fresh accusations of corruption.

Education Minister Vinod Tawde, accused of obtaining an engineering degree from an unrecognised institution, has now been targeted for “bypassing norms” to award Rs 191-crore contract to purchase fire extinguishers for the state schools. Woman and Child Development Minister Pankaja Munde is under scrutiny for awarding a contract to build check dams in Jalna district.

Tawde’s case came to the fore after the Finance Department sought a probe into allegations of irregularities in awarding the contract. Sources said Tawde’s department awarded the contract to buy three fire extinguishers for the 62,105 schools run by the zila parishad. Each extinguisher has been priced at Rs 8,321.

Tawade denied any wrongdoing. “The proposal was first mooted by the Congress-NCP government. Then Education Minister Rajendra Darda had approved the purchase last year and the contract was awarded in February this year,” Tawde told reporters today. He said he himself wanted a probe into the matter.

Munde, who was under fire earlier this month for awarding contracts worth Rs 206 crore to procure various items for the state’s anganwadis, is now accused of favouring a company whose bids were rejected on technicalities. The company was the lowest bidder to build 12 check dams in the state’s Jalna district. However, its bids were rejected because the e-sign of the company’s promoter was missing.

Munde is accused of intervening on behalf of the company. However, Munde told reporters today that she did not violate any norm in either of the two deals in which she faces allegations. She insisted that Sunil Hi-tech, the company which was given the contract to build the check dams, was the lowest bidder as prescribed by the government. Regarding the contracts worth Rs 206 crore awarded earlier this year, Munde insisted that the norms prescribing e-tendering for all bids were not binding on all departments.