Mumbai: Chief Minister DevendraFadnavis’ confidanté Radheshyam Mopalwar, a senior IAS officer in the administration, is in trouble over alleged phone calls he made to farmers, asking them to hand over land for the ambitious Samruddhi corridor, a project that the CM has been pushing.
That’s not all. Mopalwar, who is the chairman of Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), allegedly offered money to unwilling farmers. The issue was raised in both the Houses of the Assembly on Wednesday with the Opposition Congress and the NCP demanding the sacking of Mopalwar.
Following repeated disruptions of Assembly proceedings by Opposition members over the issue, the chief minister ordered an inquiry against the bureaucrat. There are other allegations of corruption against the senior IAS officer. The matter was raised in the Assembly during Question Hour by NCP legislator Ajit Pawar, who drew the attention of the House to an audio clip in which Mopalwar is allegedly heard striking a Rs 4 crore deal for a 15,000 sq feet plot in Borivali.
Former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan said the audio was being broadcast on TV channels since Tuesday. “The chief minister should have called the officer and sought an explanation. Rs 1 crore to be given in Mantralaya to whom? To a peon or driver. It is the question of the image of the state government,” Chavan said.
Referring to the inquiry order in the Slum Redevelopment Authority (SRA) scheme, Chavan said if housing minister Prakash Mehta is not asked to resign then “Dal Meinkuchkaalahai and now it is Mopalwar. It has become an open bazaar. This government has been sold,” he said. Fadnavis hit back at Chavan saying, “All these allegations are from your tenure. How did you sleep then? This government’s working is transparent. There will be an inquiry within a month and action will be taken against anyone found guilty,” he said.
In the Upper House, Leader of Opposition DhananjayMunde moved an adjournment motion and read out the transcript of call records of Mopalwar. There has been a total of 550 calls made by Mopalwar to fix the deal. When these call recordings are sent to a forensic laboratory, it will be clear that the person is indeed Mopalwar. These calls have been recorded and translated by a company approved by the Maharashtra government,” Munde said.
