By Mustafa Shaikh: Maharashtra Public Works Department (PWD) minister Ravindra Chavan on Monday revealed that he has not been able to stop corruption in his department despite several attempts. Chavan made the statement while launching the Project Management Information System (PMIS) for the PWD, where he said efforts are being made to bring transparency to the functioning of the department.
Chavan said the PMIS, a computer system developed by the PWD in collaboration with the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) and the Maharashtra Remote Sensing Applications Centre (MRSAC), will help bring transparency in the department’s proceedings.
ALSO READ | Maharashtra chemists’ body accuses Eknath Shinde’s minister Sanjay Rathod of corruption
It will provide information about the cost of a particular road and how much it will take to construct it. Chavan also said that all PWD roads will be pothole free before the monsoon and that 80 percent of PWD roads were in good condition.
The minister alleged that officials in the department were indulging in “cash-for transfers”. “I have been a follower of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s message of transparency. Since I took charge of this department, I have been saying that there must be transparency in transfers in the PWD. Even after saying this repeatedly there is no change. The way transfers were happening after taking money. I told officials not to indulge in cash-for-transfers,” said Chavan.
Chavan added that he had informed CM Shinde and deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis about the “corruption” in his department and they had offered their help to increase transparency in the PWD. He disclosed that he had asked officials in the department to “stop paying money to anyone for transfers but it still went on”.
ALSO READ | CAG report on corruption in Mumbai civic body tabled in Maharashtra Assembly
“I was upset as, even after saying this repeatedly, some officials still compete for certain posts, there is politics in this, this must stop. I have said this as PWD minister,” said Chavan, who is also the minister for food and civil supplies.
“My senior officials are with me, and they are also aware. I have told the officials about this, and I feel sad that, despite being told, they still do the same thing,” he added.
The PWD minister’s statement comes a few days after the Maharashtra State Chemist and Druggist Association wrote to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde alleging corruption in the office of the Food and Drug Administration Minister, Sanjay Rathod.
ALSO READ | Shiv Sena UBT demands high-level inquiry into Maharashtra award function tragedy
Published On:
Apr 25, 2023
