Kolkata, June 14 -- Allegations of large-scale financial irregularities in the construction of jetty ghats across West Bengal have raised a fresh political controversy, with state Transport Minister Arjun Singh ordering investigations and directing officials to lodge FIRs in suspected cases of corruption.
The minister has alleged that contractors based in Diamond Harbour enjoyed undue dominance in securing jetty construction projects across the state and that several projects were executed at costs far below the amounts billed to the government.
Singh claimed that a jetty that could be constructed for around Rs 20 lakh was billed at nearly Rs 1.5 crore. "Where the actual cost is around Rs 20 lakh, bills have been raised for Rs 1.5 crore. ...