‘Don’t pay chikki distributors’

In a setback to the contractors who had supplied the controversial chikki for distribution to students of anganwadis, the Bombay high court on Tuesday asked the government not to make payments to these suppliers pending hearing the petition alleging a scam in supplying chikki. The court also said that it would start hearing final arguments on the matter from February 8.

The division bench of Justices V.M. Kanade and Revati Mohite Dere said it would hear on February 8 and 9 the PIL filed by Sandeep Ahire and others seeking inquiry by a retired high court judge into the alleged Rs 206-crore chikki scam. The bench said pending hearing of the petition the government should not make payments. Women and child development minister Pankaja Munde had come under fire due to allegation of distribution of sub-standard chikkis. Soon after the alleged scam came to light, the Maharashtra government formed a high-power committee to go into purchases of various commodities, including chikki, made by departments on ‘rate contract’ basis in the last 15 years.