Pawar defends nephew Ajit

“We can’t rule out the possibility of sub-standard work in some projects. But who is responsible for looking after the quality of these works? It’s not the job of a chief minister or a minister. There are thousands of projects throughout the country sanctioned by me that are under progress. Is it possible for me to go and check the quality of each and every project? In case of sub-standard work,officials concerned should conduct a probe and penalise the erring contractor or engineer. A heavy fine can be imposed on such a contractor or he can blacklisted. The current trend of blaming public representatives for each and every wrong,however small it may be,is not good for the society. Some people are deliberately trying to malign public representatives by slapping baseless allegations against them,” said Pawar. Regarding former IPS officer Y P Singh’s allegations that the Pawar family had leased out about 348 acres of government land to Lavasa Corporation in violations of the norms,Pawar said Lavasa project had actually benefited the region.

“There is a provision in the law that states extra land after the construction of a dam can be leased out to a tourism or water-sports firm. The land was sanctioned to Lavasa Corporation on the basis of this law. Of the total land acquired for the dam,91 per cent was used for the dam and remaining 9 per cent was given to Lavasa. On weekends,around 15,000 tourists visit the hill city which has excellent hospitals,international quality schools and colleges. The project is providing employment to many local people,” said Pawar.