NAGPUR/MUMBAI: Eight years after NGO Janmanch filed a public interest litigation and innumerable hearings later, the state Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has, for the first time, directly blamed former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar in the alleged Rs 70,000 crore irrigation scam .In an affidavit submitted to the Nagpur bench of the Bombay high court on Tuesday, ACB director general Sanjay Barve clarified that Rule 10 of ‘Maharashtra government Rules of Business and Instructions’ makes the former NCP minister, who looked after the water resources department (WRD) portfolio during most of the tenure of the Congress-NCP government, responsible for “all business and disposal thereof appertaining to his department”.The ACB has registered 24 FIRs against officers of the Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation (VIDC), contractors and their power of attorney holders so far.TOI had in 2012 written a series of reports on irregularities in the irrigation projects which resulted in Ajit Pawar quitting as deputy CM.“The respondent No 7 (Pawar), who had overall responsibility of his department as per Rule 10, had stated that it was the duty of the secretary/executive director to vet the files and ensure that proper procedure is followed. All the note sheets, pertaining to sanction before grant of work commencement order and mobilization advance were signed by him,” the affidavit stated, clearly blaming Pawar for massive irregularities and corruption.The ACB noted that the dramatis personae, who put up this performance that cost the government dearly, are simply trying to hide behind the framework of rules and pass the buck. “It’s like an orchestra where players have done their bit to create symphony (cacophony in this case) and no one is ready to own up the jarring notes. This is a weird case of conspiracy in the WRD to defraud the government itself,” it said.NCP’s Ajit Pawar could face criminal case for corruptionA senior BJP minister told TOI that no decision has been taken so far on whether to register a criminal case against Pawar under the Prevention of Corruption Act. “ACB has established that there was a fixed pattern in cost escalation of projects. Initially we found cost escalation in certain projects, but later it was observed there was an identical pattern in all projects in the Vidarbha region. ACB is still probing key projects, and we are gathering conclusive evidence against Ajit Pawar. Once we establish his role, we will file criminal proceedings against him under the Act,” the BJP minister said.When pointed out that it might be difficult to book Ajit Pawar if it is shown that he purportedly followed the rules of business, the minister said ACB had carefully studied the rules of business and it was found that on occasion, Pawar had exercised the powers of the secretary too. “There was a breach of rules in most cases, so now he cannot escape,’’ the minister said.Acknowledging the petitioners’ role, the ACB said several observations made by them were found factually correct during scrutiny of documents related to various tenders and projects.The affidavit was submitted in response to a poser by the HC on October 17 directing the government to come clear on Pawar’s role in the scam. It is likely to come up for discussion on Wednesday during hearing of the PIL filed by Janmanch and four others. Firdos Mirza is counsel for Janmanch and Shridhar Purohit for the other petitioner, social worker Atul Jagtap.In its 58-page affidavit, the ACB has mentioned the modus operandi adopted by all stakeholders, right from contractors to VIDC officials and the minister, while awarding tenders. It also agreed to most charges made by petitioners that procedures were bypassed by all stakeholders who acted against the government’s interest and favoured a select group of contractors, passed on pecuniary benefits to them and also allowed and accepted substandard work.The ACB concluded that not only were the projects inordinately delayed, but the costs also went up exponentially, leading to failure in providing irrigation facilities in the parched lands of Vidarbha’s five districts. It also led to denying the gain that would have accrued to farmers through multiple cropping and assured irrigation for decades. “If these costs were quantified, the loss to the state exchequer and national wealth would be colossal,” the affidavit said.Regarding VIDC’s matters at the macro level, the ACB observed that the officers tried to hide behind the facade of departmental rules and claim innocence even though rules were not followed in letter and spirit. The contractors claim they got contracts through the competitive tender process, but the process was found “rigged and flawed.”Citing Rule 14, ACB pointed out that the secretary of the department is responsible for careful observance of rules. However, in a WRD note-sheet of November 11, 2005, Pawar directed that all tenders should directly be forwarded to the chairman by the executive directors with a view to expedite Vidarbha’s irrigation projects.Pawar, in his defence to ACB, claims he took decisions based on recommendations of secretarylevel officers and most of them were taken at the field level. He tried to shift responsibility on to the officers citing Rule 14.