Congress MLA Vikas Thakre alleges Rs 93 lakh spent on Nagpur PWD VIP guest house, seeks probe
Vikas Thakre says winter session funds were used on a guest house treated like the superintending engineer's official residence, and wants action against officials and contractors.
Congress MLA Vikas Thakre has alleged that the VIP guest house under PWD Division No. 1 in Nagpur is being used like the official residence of the superintending engineer. He says about Rs 93 lakh was spent on it from funds sanctioned for the winter session of the legislature.
Thakre has demanded an impartial inquiry. He has asked PWD Minister Shivendra Singh Raje Bhosale to take action against the officials and contractors concerned.
According to Thakre, he obtained the information under the RTI Act and passed it on to the minister. He had earlier complained about the alleged misuse of winter session funds, and said some of the engineers concerned were transferred after that complaint was taken up.
The MLA said he had sought through RTI details of the work carried out at the superintending engineer's official residence in Ravinagar, Civil Lines, Nagpur. The reply showed that Bungalow No. 47/1 in Ravinagar is in fact the VIP guest house.
According to the RTI information, three work orders were issued on November 23 and December 21, 2023. A total of Rs 92,86,124 was spent on the building under them.
The works include repair of the false ceiling, renovation of the bathroom, replacement of doors and windows, raising the height of the compound wall and roof repair. Other works listed include a shed for parking, structural strengthening, waterproofing of the plinth protection and a garden pathway.
Thakre specifically pointed out that all the works in these work orders are described as linked to the winter session. He fears that large sums from session funds may also have been spent on the official residences of other engineers of the department, and has therefore demanded an inquiry into all the works.
Thakre also said the PWD has presented a budget of about Rs 100 crore for preparations for the legislature session to be held in December 2026. He demanded an independent committee to monitor works carried out with session funds.
In his view, the committee should include the local MLA, a representative of the District Collector's office, a civil engineer from a central government body and PWD engineers. Thakre said there should be complete transparency from the tender process to completion of the work, and the committee should ensure public funds are spent only on essential works.
