Once against admn approvals, BJP now practices the same

Mumbai: As the issue of administrative approval to irrigation projects has cropped up again, further details of the approvals suggest that nothing has changed even after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power. The same BJP had, interestingly, opposed hikes in project costs as a result of administrative approvals.

Two key projects, 11 barrages on Painganaga in Washim district of Vidarbha and Lower Dudhana in Parabhani district of Marathwada are among those that have benefited through administrative approval from the current BJP government.

Ironically, it was BJP that criticised the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), which was then in charge of the irrigation ministry, on the same projects in the past, opposing administrative approval for them.

The Asian Age had reported on March 24 about how the BJP-led government has given approval to 130 irrigation projects costing Rs 21,000 crore more from their originally estimated cost.

The cost of these projects had been revised from Rs 11,835 crore to Rs 32,935 crore. Further research has revealed that some of these projects are those that had been opposed by BJP when it was in opposition.

For example, the BJP government has given approval to 11 barrages on Painganga River in Washim district. While administrative approval for this project has gone up to Rs 716.42 crore, the original cost for them was Rs 91.74 crore.

Another example is Lower Dudhana project of Parbhani district in Marathwada. The government approved a revised estimated cost of Rs 2,341.67 crore, which was earlier Rs 1,025.78 crore.

The reasons for revising the costs are same as in other previous instances: increased costs of land acquisition, changes in designs of projects, hiked costs of raw material, etc.

Ironically, both these projects along with many others like Gosikhurd in Vidarbha and Nilvanade in Konkan were named by BJP leaders when they used to raise the issue of irrigation scam in Maharashtra.