MUMBAI: Amid the ongoing controversies regarding corruption by government officials—for instance the Anti-Corruption Bureau’s action against a Mantralaya official in an NCP minister’s office—a fake bank guarantee fraud of around ₹250 crore has come to light in the Mukhyamantri Saur Krushi Vahini Yojana (MSKVY) under which solar power is provided to farmers.
The alleged fraud was revealed in the tender process executed by the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (MSEDCL). The Economic Offences Wing (EOW), which is investigating the matter, has registered a case in five instances. MSEDCL has already suspended the accounts manager in this case and is conducting a further inquiry.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Ambadas Danve on Saturday posted on social media platform X, “Massive corruption has been unearthed in the Mukhyamantri Saur Krushi Vahini Yojana. The EOW has registered five cases in matters related to fake bank guarantees by companies like NOPL, Green, NACOF, IIPL and ONIX. This fraud was done in nexus with MSEDCL top officials. It is a big embarrassment for MSEDCL. Will a fair inquiry be conducted? Is CM Devendra Fadnavis going to check the involvement of his ministers?”
The post sparked a lot of controversy. MSEDCL officials said that accounts manager Rahul Panhale—who was responsible for checking the details of the bank guarantees—had already been suspended. According to officials, the fraud came to light when MSEDCL initiated action against some vendors for not completing the work under MSKVY. “When we seized the bank guarantees and began the process of encashment, we realised that they were fake,” said an MSEDCL official. “MSEDCL then initiated legal action. Panhale was suspended, and a detailed inquiry is going on.” The official added that the total fake bank guarantee amount in these five cases was around ₹250 crore.
Vishwas Pathak, independent director of the MSEB Holding Company, said that action had been initiated. “We are investigating in detail at our end,” he said. “No one will be spared, including vendors and MSEDCL officials. The culprits will be punished.”
BJP spokesperson Navnath Ban said that neither MSEDCL nor the state government had suffered any losses on account of the scam. “MSEDCL initiated action against 20 companies which failed to complete their work in 18 months,” he said. “It was during this move that we found out that these five companies had submitted fake bank guarantees, so MSEDCL lodged a complaint. Till now, ₹ 40 crore have been received in the MSEDCL account.”
A police officer said that the Mumbai police had registered two FIRs at Nirmal Nagar Police Station. “One is for a ₹ 49.5-crore fraud while the other is for ₹11.25 crore,” he said. “Several sections have been applied such as cheating, forgery of valuable security, using forged documents or electronic records as genuine and criminal conspiracy.”