A sensitive twist has been added to Rajasthan’s high-profile Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) scam, worth Rs 960 crore, by arrested former IAS officer Subodh Agarwal (IAS:1988:RJ). Agarwal made a sensational disclosure by naming former state Chief Secretary Sudhansh Pant (IAS:1991:RJ) in the case during his court appearance. The development has caused an upheaval in the state’s administrative machinery.
Agrawal had been arrested by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) from Delhi last week and was produced before a Jaipur court on Monday after the end of his ACB remand. He was serving as Additional Chief Secretary of the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) when the alleged scam took place. He took everyone by surprise when he publicly referred to ex-CS Pant in the case.
While speaking to reporters outside the court, Agarwal alleged that of the 37 Finance Committee-related cases under scrutiny, only four pertain to his tenure, while the remaining 33 date back to the period when Pant was in charge.
He went on to allege that these 33 cases involve financial irregularities of nearly Rs 600 crore. He also questioned the ACB’s probe, claiming that the agency was allegedly ignoring cases involving actual cash transactions and focusing on files where payments had not yet been made.
The investigation into the scam revealed that bribes were allegedly distributed to officials at a Jaipur hotel.
Besides Agarwal, nine other officials and former PHED Mahesh Joshi have so far been arrested in the case, while three PHED officials—Jitendra Sharma (then Executive Engineer), Mukesh Goyal (then Superintending Engineer), and their associate Sanjeev Gupta—remain absconding.
Joshi was taken into custody but later granted bail. Now, Agarwal’s arrest is being considered a significant breakthrough in the ongoing investigation.
According to ACB sources, the scam involved manipulation of tenders for the JJM project in collusion with private firms.
Agarwal has subsequently been sent to ACB remand for another two days, and his next appearance is scheduled for April 15.
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