Former IPS officer-turned activist-lawyer Y. P. Singh on Thursday accused Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and his family members of being embroiled in the controversial Lavasa hill city project and the massive irrigation scam in Maharashtra.
Kejriwal ‘selective’
Singh, at a press conference, also slammed Arvind Kejriwal of India Against Corruption (IAC), for his selective exposures of politicians. He alleged that Kejriwal had not given full information pertaining to the irrigation scam, for which he had jointly done the legwork with Kejriwal.
Singh said Kejriwal had enough information to expose Sharad Pawar, the real beneficiary in the scam, but had deliberately concealed facts. Details of the irrigation scam were not brought out in public, he said.
He said that that former Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra Ajit Pawar, who was then holding the charge of State Irrigation Minister, had given away 348 acres of land to the Lake City Corporation, which was later rechristened Lavasa Corporation.
Pawar family
Speaking to media persons, he alleged that huge tracts of land were given at a measly rent of Rs 23,000 a month, that too without any public auction. Earlier, in Lake City, Supriya Sule, daughter of Sharad Pawar and her husband, Sadanand Sule owned about 21 per cent stake.
In 2006, they sold their shareholding in the company. But at what cost, asked Singh, questioning the deal.
Singh belongs to the 1985 IPS batch of the Maharashtra Cadre. In his role as a police officer, he had worked with the Food and Drugs Administration, the Central Bureau of Investigation and the State Reserve Police. During his stint with the CBI, Singh dealt with several high-profile cases.