The Congress today accused the Maharashtra government of clearing bills of a private company tasked with producing a programme called 'Mi Mukhyamantri Boltoy' (This is Chief Minister Speaking) despite the firm not having "filmed or aired" it since October last year.
Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant alleged that the government paid Rs 2.36 crore to Effervescent Private Limited for the 'Mi Mukhyamantri Boltoy' programme of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis despite it not filming a single episode since October last year.
The Directorate General of Information and Public Relations (DGIPR), however, dismissed Sawant's allegation, saying his charges were "false" and based on "incomplete" information.
The DGIPR said the company was hired to produce several other programmes other than episodes of 'Mi Mukhyamantri Boltoy', adding that payments were made only for work it had completed.
According to Sawant, the firm was supposed to produce the programme between October last year and June this year but it was last aired on October 1, 2017.
The chief minister, he alleged, has not given time for filming episodes of the programme since then.
"The programme was neither filmed nor aired (for 10 months). Yet the company was paid Rs 2.36 crore. The company was paid this amount despite it using manpower and machinery of the DGIPR for free. This is a big scam," Sawant told reporters here.
The Congress leader also questioned the criteria for awarding the contract to the company.
"When the DGIPR has the latest technology and capable manpower to come out with such a programme, why was the contract given to a new private company, which was barely three months old?" he questioned.
According to Sawant, the company was floated only in March 2017.
Attacking Fadnavis further, Sawant said, "The Marathas and Dhangars are protesting over quota. The government employees went on strike. Several such issues are there. Why did the chief minister not address people through the programme all this while?"
Rebutting the charges, the DGIPR said that the company was entrusted with producing various government programmes other than 'Mi Mukhyamantri Boltoy'.
"Most importantly, the company has been paid only for the work it has done. No payment has been made for the work it has not done yet," the DGIPR said in a statement.
The company was selected after seeking tenders online, the DGIPR said.
The company has produced 339, 195 and 12 episodes of 'Dilkhulas', 'Jai Maharashtra' and Mi Mukhyamantri Boltoy programmes respectively, it added.
'Dilkhulas' is a radio chat show with government officials while 'Jai Maharashtra' is a chat show with ministers and senior government officials.
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