Sanjay Nirupam says BJP minister scammed government of Rs 24 crore

Sanjay Nirupam and Subhash Deshmukh

Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam has accused Subhash Deshmukh, minister for co-operatives, of duping the state exchequer of Rs 24.81 crore on the basis of forged documents. Nirupam said Deshmukh got Rs 24.81 crore sanctioned from the Ministry of Agriculture under the National Agricultural Department Programme (NAFD) in the name of establishing a milk chilling and milk powder manufacturing plant in Solapur.

Of this amount, Deshmukh, along with his son, Rohan Deshmukh, on behalf of their firm, Lokmangal Multi-stage Cooperative Society Ltd, withdrew R2 crore in the first phase and R3 crore in the second phase. To get this amount sanctioned, Deshmukh submitted a series of forged and fabricated documents from various government departments including Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (Pune), Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (Solapur), Industrial Security and Health Department (Solapur), Food and Drug Administration (Solapur) and a fraudulent letter from the Deputy Divisional Engineer, PWD, North Solapur.

When the officers concerned in the aforesaid departments were requested for copies of permissions issued, they clearly stated that no licences, permissions or orders of any kind were issued from their offices to Subhash Deshmukh's Lokmangal Multi-state Cooperative Society Ltd, said Nirupam. Nirupam pointed out that four of these plants under Lokmangal Multi-state Cooperative Society Ltd located in different parts of Solapur are in non-working condition, while one plant doesn't exist as proven in a reply to an RTI query.

'Deshmukh is known for his scams more than any developmental work. The kind of forgery this minister has indulged in is huge, and stringent action needs to be taken against him and all those officers who have turned a blind eye to all his wrongdoings so far," he said at a press conference. Responding to allegations, Deshmukh's office said Nirupam was politically motivated and all charges were false. It said the issue is being inquired into by a competent authority on the basis of the complaints made by Lokmangal. "Not a single paisa has been spent so far, and we don't intend to use this money till the inquiry is complete," said a statement. The minister's office shifted the blame on to the consultants who were hired for getting the permissions.

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