The Opposition Congress on Thursday flagged a massive scam of Rs 15,000 crore in the development of the Nagpur-Mumbai Samruddhi Expressway project and demanded a white paper on the mega project.
Alleging that the cost of Samruddhi Expressway project — originally estimated to cost `55,000 crore, had escalated to`70,000 crore, Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) President Harshavardhan Sapkal said: The inflated cost of Rs 15,000 crore points to massive corruption. If the BJP-led government has any ethical standards left, it should release a white paper on the Samruddhi Expressway project”.
Sakpal alleged that corruption worth `3,000 crore was exposed in the Ghodbunder-Bhayander tunnel and elevated road project. “The State Government was forced to cancel the tender only after the Supreme Court’s intervention. Just like the Ghodbunder-Bhayander project, there has been large-scale corruption in the Samruddhi Expressway as well,” the State Congress chief said.
Rooting for a white paper on the expenditures incurred on various heads of the project, Sakpal said: “We want the state government to come out with a white paper, detailing how much money was spent, the cost of each bridge, per-kilometer construction expenses, compensation paid to farmers for land acquisition, payments to contractors, costs for tree plantation, and revenue being collected through tolls”
“Owing to poor construction quality, many portions of the expressway have already developed cracks. Since the major portion of the expressway became operational, numerous accidents have occurred, leading to multiple deaths and hundreds of injuries. The project has only served to enrich a select few from the ruling party,” the MPCC chief alleged.