New Delhi: Rajasthan Agriculture Minister Kirodi Lal Meena, who had earlier demanded the recall of a housing project in Jaipur as it did not have cabinet clearance, has now pointed fingers towards “irregularities” in the implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission in the state. This is being seen in BJP circles as another sign of rebellion building up against Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, with a number of ministers raising various concerns about lapses in governance.
In a letter to the CM, Meena emphasised the need to fix a number of issues at various levels and instructions to be given for “strict monitoring”.
“Our government should also not have to face the same allegations which we had levelled against Congress six months back,” he further says.
Although the letter was sent last month, it has now surfaced on social media.
Meena is not the only one. A number of state ministers have been writing to the CM raising concerns. Last month, Rajasthan Minister of State K.K. Bishnoi wrote a letter to Bhajan Lal about irregular power cuts amid the scorching heat in Barmer. Before this, BJP leader Rajendra Singh Rathore had also written to the CM about water scarcity in Churu, and posted his letter on X.
A day before the Lok Sabha election results came out on 4 June, Meena had announced that he would resign if the BJP lost the Dausa seat. He also skipped one of the BJP meetings called to assess the reasons behind the party’s performance in the state. The party’s seat tally in Rajasthan slipped from 25 in the 2019 polls to 14 this time.
According to party sources, Meena, one of the BJP’s “big leaders” from eastern Rajasthan, was “ignored” and not made deputy CM, which upset his supporters.
“First he was not made the deputy and then he was not given ministries of his choice. This was the reason he took charge late. He has been writing these letters to highlight the incompetence of the current government,” said a senior BJP leader.
Also Read: Why BJP swept Madhya Pradesh but suffered a setback in neighbouring Rajasthan
What Meena’s letter said
In his letter, Meena highlights two key concerns — pooling of tenders of the Jal Jeevan Mission, and “embezzlement in quality and quantity of pipelines laid in villages”. He calls for “strict monitoring so that there is no wastage of public money, embezzlement and scam and our government is also not accused of the same”.
The agriculture minister goes on to allege that the previous Congress government “had committed many scams and irregularities in the Jal Jeevan Mission”, and asks the current Bhajan Lal government to ensure that “no officer of the department can indulge in corruption even if he wants to”.
According to Meena, under the previous government, “firms pooled (cartel) tenders worth about Rs 20,000 crore at high rates under political and administrative protection”, but due to the “irregularities being exposed by our party, the Congress government cancelled the tenders”.
The BJP government, he adds, has since taken prompt action and invited tenders by removing the conditions imposed by the previous Congress government “which were against the RTPP (Rajasthan Transparency in Public Procurement) Act”.
The BJP minister stressed that the government will need to be alert and ensure that not only is the tender process successful, but the rates are also competitive so it is not accused of “tender pooling”.
In his letter, Meena further points to the “embezzlement in quality and quantity of pipelines laid in villages”, adding that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had found that a scam was perpetrated by two Jaipur based firms.
“…then Lok Sabha MP Baba Balaknath had expressed apprehensions of a scam worth Rs 1,500 crore in his district alone to the central and state governments,” he says.
He also cited the example of how contractors are being paid without the pipelines being made, a clear violation of the central government’s guidelines.
“My only request is that if the work is done without advance approval of the type, class and length of the pipeline, then the possibility of embezzlement and laying of substandard pipes becomes stronger and keeping this in mind, guidelines have been issued in the National Jal Jeevan Mission,” he adds.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)