Infrastructure firms using fake bills to sex-up figures?

MUMBAI: Maharashtra sales tax department has come across a disturbing trend in execution of private and public infrastructure projects in Mumbai. Probe by the department's economic intelligence wing found that a number of firms are artificially inflating their annual turnover figures with help of fake bills issued by hawala dealers.

To speed up development in Mumbai, big-ticket infrastructure projects are being taken up in both public and private sectors. A certain turnover is an entry-level criterion for companies to bid for big-ticket projects.

Intelligence wing has come across cases where firms falling short of requirement have used hawala route to inflate figures.

Another Adarsh in the making in Pune?

Pune/Mumbai: The list of housing scams in Maharashtra is just growing. This time in Pune.

This four-acre piece of land in Lohegaon, earmarked for a defence personnel cooperative society was promoted as a residential scheme for Kargil war heroes.

But when the society was proposed names of several bureaucrats and police officers figured in the list.

The IAS officers include: Mohan Adtani, Vasantrao Vaidya, Vikas Deshmukh, Bajirao Jadhav and Shyam Vardhane.

The IPS officers whose names figured in the list are: Vishwas Pandhare, Anant Rokde, Rajkumar Vhatkar, Pradip Raskar and Suhas Warke.

Also in the list are two members of former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan's staff.

Two secretaries of Maharashtra Industries Minister Narayan Rane are also in the list.

The society received clearance in September 2010 during the tenure of former chief minister Ashok Chavan.

But after complaints of irregularities the allotment was cancelled in December last year.

Stung by the Adarsh scam, the Maharashtra Chief Minister has now promised action.

"Fixing accountability will be a key element of our government. If somebody had broken the law and violated rules then we will throw the book at them," said Prithviraj Chavan.

"There was a demand to add more members apart from the original list as without their help we would not get the land. In this way bureaucrats entered the society," said Ravi Barhate, the Builder.

With so many serving IAS and IPS officers involved it be a long time before the guilty are punished.


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