Maharashtra PWD minister Chhagan Bhujbal today said he will order an inquiry into allegations of senior BJP leader Kirit Somaiya that department engineers gave government contracts to companies promoted by their close relatives.
Just naming the engineers and giving a list of companies promoted by their family members is not a sign of corruption, Bhujbal told reporters here.
"As per service rules, there should not be favouritism on part of the government officials to allot contracts to their kin within their jurisdiction," he said.
No law prevents government officials or their kin from doing business or any kind of entrepreneurship, he said.
Bhujbal said he would enquire into the allegations of Somaiya to find out whether the engineers violated service rules.
According to the rules, no contracts should be given in the jurisdiction of the concerned government official.
Bhujbal described Somaiya's charges as "vague allegations".
Earlier, Somaiya said he had given the list of engineers to the PWD secretary and sought a probe by income tax department into the alleged scam.
He alleged PWD engineers all over the state run kickback rackets, conniving with ministers and contractors.
When asked about it, Bhujbal said Somaiya should show proof and substantiate the allegations.
Somaiya demanded that a probe by Special Investigation Team (SIT) should be carried out to unearth the alleged scam in the PWD department.
