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A shocking instance of blatant corruption by Purshottam Solanki, the fisheries minister in the Modi government, has been revealed through an ongoing case in Gujarat High Court. A shocking
instance of blatant corruption by Purshottam Solanki, the fisheries minister in Narendra Modi government, has been revealed through an ongoing case in Gujarat High Court. The scam has caused
a loss of Rs400 crore to the state exchequer. But since a former Lok Ayukta did not find the minister guilty, the case brings to fore a pertinent question: Is a Lok Ayukta the panacea for
corruption? In September 2008, a petition was filed in the HC challenging the fishing contracts for 58 big reservoirs of Gujarat, 200 hectares each, given out by Solanki at just one go. The
petitioner, one Ishaq Maradia from Bhagal village in Palanpur, alleged that the fishing leases were granted at rates far below the price fixed in the previous contract. The bids worth Rs40
crore per annum were awarded for a pittance of Rs2.36 crore. Maradia and other petitioners have clearly stated in their affidavits that Solanki demanded bribes from them for sums varying
from Rs10 lakh to Rs30 lakh each.