'Rat scam' in Maharashtra? 24,000 rats claimed to be killed on just 1 floor of Mantralaya

MUMBAI: Politicians in Maharashtra have been debating on a unique issue - Is it possible kill 3,19,400 rats in just seven days in the Mantralaya? The issue was raised in the Legislative Assembly on Thursday raising questions on how the feat was accomplished. Congress on Friday attacked the Maharashtra government saying even killing rats has become a scam in the state. "The government claims everything is transparent but the fact is that everything is under wraps. There are scams everywhere, even killing rats is now a scam.

Senior BJP leader and former Maharashtra minister Eknath Khadse had on Thursday demanded an inquiry into the way a contract to kill rats in Mantralaya (the state secretariat) was executed. "A survey found that there were 3,19,400 rats in Mantralaya. A work order was issued by the General Administration Department. The company was given six months. But it claimed to have killed them in just seven days," Khadse had said.

He also added that the BMC took two years to kill six lakh rats. "It is very surprising that this company killed over three lakh rats in just seven days while the BMC took two years to kill six lakh rats. There is a discrepancy in the claim made by the company," he said, demanding an inquiry. 

From May 3, 2016, to May 9, 2016, 24,000 rats were believed to have been killed just on the ground floor. Of these, 7000 were killed in the north side, 6000 in the south, 5000 in the west and 6000 in the east. 

Here is a list of how many rats were killed in different parts of the Mantralaya during those 7 days

Khadse said the calculation means 45,628.57 rats were killed in a day. "Those 0.57 must be the new-born ones," he said, evoking laughter in the House. "It also means the company killed 31.68 rats every minute. Their weight was around 9,125.71 kg and every day one truck was required to take dead rats out of Mantralaya. But it is not known where they were disposed of," he said.