Mumbai, Mar 24 (Midday News): A day after BJP leader Eknath Khadse alleged a scam in the pest control contract at Mantralaya, the Public Works Department (PWD) dismissed the charges. Khadse had demanded to know how it was possible to kill 45,000 rats a day and claimed that farmer Dharma Patil, who had killed himself at the state headquarters recently, had consumed the rat poison available on the Mantralaya premises.

PWD said in a statement that the tenders floated in May 2016 were for 3,19,400 rat poison tablets, and it was wrong to say that these number of rats had been killed. "The same reply was given in an RTI reply (to BJP MLA Charan Waghamare, based on which Khadse made the allegations against his party's government). The cost was R1.50 a tablet and the total cost incurred was Rs 4,79,100. The tablets were procured at the same rate in 2010-11 and 2011-12 (when the Congress-NCP was in power)," said PWD, adding that the contract was given to Vinayak Majur Sahakari Sanstha.

On Thursday, Khadse wanted to know where the killed rats were disposed of. "They say there were 3,19,400 rats at the Mantralaya. The company was given the job of getting rid of rats in six months, but said it had killed all rats within seven days. This means that 45,000 rats were killed every day," he said.

However, the PWD did not answer how many rats were killed and where they were disposed of. It also did not comment on Khadse's charge that Dharma Patil had not brought the poison with him but he had found the rat poison inside the Mantralaya.