India, Jan. 15 -- Former irrigation department chief engineer Vijay Pandhare on Wednesday backed deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar's recent allegations of Rs.100 crore corruption in irrigation projects, asserting the financial irregularities were far more extensive than reported, while also alleging that Pawar refrained from naming those responsible because of his own alleged involvement in multiple irrigation-related scams.

A day after Pawar levelled allegations against the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government of 1995-99, Pandhare, while speaking in Pune, said, "Several major lift irrigation schemes taken up under the Krishna Valley Project were riddled with large-scale corruption."

According to Pandhare, Pawar has referred...