Hazare accuses CM of aiding Sahara project

Meanwhile, talking to newspersons here today, Hazare said the "Bhrashtachar Virodhi Janandolan", a forum established by him, will soon come out with a booklet, one chapter of which will be solely devoted to how the Chief Minister had "protected" the interest of the builders who are implementing the multi-crore "Amby Valley" project.

Through the 40 page booklet, to be published in a fortnight, the forum also plans to establish that Joshi and the then irrigation minister Mahadevrao Shivankar were involved in the mismanagement of Irrigation Department funds, totally worth Rs 32 crore, during 1995. The main portion of the booklet will, however, be devoted to list the evidence the forum has gathered against the former State Agriculture Minister Shashikant Sutar.

"We are waiting for the copy of the Dudhat Commission report," said Hazare, while charging the State Government of not forwarding to him a copy of the report absolving Sutar of the charges of ministerial corruption, despite repeated reminders.

Hazare said that he was planning to move the High Court challenging the Duhat Commission findings, besides demanding a CBI probe into the charges against Sutar.

Though Hazare did not demand such a probe against Joshi, he claimed to possess evidence to establish that the Chief Minister had aided the SIHL project.

The proposal was cleared by the State irrigation department in a haste, Hazare charged, adding "The senior irrigation department officials had directed the local officers to clear the scheme at the earliest stating that the Chief Minister had asked them to give a speedy clearance to the work".

"No drip irrigation scheme exists at the site today. The water supplied for the purpose is being used to fill up the swimming tanks", Hazare charged.

When pointed out that work on the project, including the purchase of land and seeking sanctions had started in 1993, before the Sena-BJP alliance came to power, Hazare admitted that Joshi was not solely responsible for clearing the project.

Pointing out that the environment ministry had directed that no trees at the site should be axed, Hazare asked why no action was initiated by the government when the company levelled the ground by felling thousands of trees.

"He (Joshi) just assured to impose a fine of Rs 50 lakh on the company when he should have stalled the work on the project. The fodder scam in Bihar was of Rs 900 crore. This is more bigger. Its a Rs 1,500 crore project", Hazare said.

Hazare has also threatened to launch a statewide agitation from January 15, 1998, if the State Government failed to release the list of persons who have been allotted residential flats under the government’s "10 per cent reservation scheme" during the past 20 years.

He said that he had received several complaints stating that the list of persons below the poverty line, prepared recently by the State Government, was fraudulent. Many persons with high income have managed to get themselves listed so as to avail the benefits given to those below poverty line, he added.