M A I N   N E W S

Maya gave nod to Taj Corridor work, finds CBI

New Delhi, August 27
The outgoing Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Ms Mayawati, was involved in the go-ahead for the controversial Rs 175-crore Taj Heritage Corridor project, according to investigations by CBI.

The CBI, which is probing the scam on the orders of the Supreme Court, has put together the sequence of events leading to the commencement of the work to construct the corridor..

According to the CBI, a file was sent to Mayawati through her Environment Minister Naseemuddin Siddiqui to obtain her approval for commencement of the work. Her approval was conveyed by Mr P. L. Punia, her Principal Secretary.

Mr Siddiqui had directly sent a file to Ms Mayawati, seeking her approval for the commencement of the work on the project without routing it through the Chief Secretary.

The file is understood to have contained a noting that the Chief Secretary had approved the decision of the Mission Management Board for immediate commencement of work at the project site.

Advocate Krishan Mahajan, appointed as Court Commissioner by the apex court for matters pertaining to the Taj Trapezium zone, had informed the court that the project was undertaken by the National Project Construction Corporation on behalf of the UP Government without any statutory approval and without any work orders being awarded to it. — PTI