Bihar Deputy CM Awards Contracts Worth Crores of Rupees To Kin, Say Reports; Opposition Cries Foul
The Nitish Kumar government in Bihar on Wednesday found itself in a tight spot over contracts worth crores of rupees having been awarded to many close relatives of Deputy Chief Minister . The matter came to light following media reports about contracts for Har Ghar Nal Ka Jal, a much touted scheme launched by the chief minister half a decade ago that aims to bring tap water to every household in the state.
The reports said that in Katihar district, to which Prasad belongs, contracts worth Rs 53 crore were awarded to beneficiaries known to be close to him. One of them Puja Kumari is his daughter-in-law. Prasad, a senior BJP leader who has been representing Katihar in the assembly for several terms on the trot, was not immediately available for comments.
However, officials of the Public Health Engineering Department, which is responsible for the implementation of the scheme, said on condition of anonymity that there was no irregularity since the contracts were awarded after a transparent bidding process and it was a coincidence that some happened to be the Deputy CM’s close relatives.
The Leader of the Opposition Tejashwi Yadav was predictably furious. “It is a matter of conflict of interests. Prasad may not have been the Deputy CM when the contracts were awarded. But he was the local MLA. I have documents relating to this scam which I will be sharing with the media in the next few days,” the RJD leader told reporters.
Yadav, an ex Deputy CM himself, taunted Nitish Kumar, his former boss, over his alleged inability to act against the current deputy.He (Nitish) will not dare speak or act against Tar Kishor Prasad. He cannot run the risk of Srijan scam files being reopened, remarked the RJD leader, tongue in cheek.
The allusion was to a case of fraudulent withdrawal of money from the government treasury in Bhagalpur district which is being investigated by the CBI.
The RJD has been insisting that the chief minister was wary of taking on the BJP, a dominant ally which also rules the Centre, out of fear of being hounded by the investigating agency which has often been accused of doing the bidding of the ruling dispensation of the day.Meanwhile, senior RJD leader from Katihar Ram Krishan Mahto, who claims to have provided Tejashwi Yadav with all relevant documents, said he came to know of the alleged favouritism in awarding the contracts a year ago.
“I had provided these to the leader of the opposition with the request that he flag the matter on the floor of the assembly. Though he has not been able to do so till now, he intends to raise the issue in the next session,” said Mahto, who represented Katihar in the assembly before losing the seat to Prasad in 2005.
“There are many irregularities. In some instances, payments have been made even though the work was not complete. I demand that the chief minister drop Tar Kishor Prasad and get the matter investigated by a sitting judge of the Patna High Court,” Mahto added.
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