Mumbai, Aug. 19 -- Former Vasai-Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVCMC) commissioner Anil Pawar - arrested last week in connection with a money laundering probe into the construction of 41 illegal, now-demolished buildings in Vasai East - cleared payments worth Rs.43.5 crore to 40 contractors over seven days after his transfer on July 17. Most of the payments were cleared on the day after he was transferred while the remaining were cleared on July 22, according to information obtained by Jatin Dadhich under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The 40 contractors, whose payments were cleared by Pawar after his transfer, were engaged in various activities within VVCMC limits, including garden development, housing for Dalits, construction of sewage lines and roads, development of sports ground and beautification work. The payments ranged between Rs.3.50 lakh and Rs.3.52 crore and were in favour of individual contractors as well as registered companies. They included goods and services tax, tax deducted at source and labour welfare tax, the RTI response said. The speed at which Pawar cleared the payments was suspicious, said VVCMC officials. "Bills worth Rs.35.44 crore were cleared on July 17, the day after his transfer. This was unusual and indicates malafide intention," an official told Hindustan Times. "There is also a need to check if the bills were cleared following due process, after the submission of audit reports by concerned officers regarding the quality of work," the official noted. Manoj Survawanshi, who replaced Pawar as VVCMC commissioner, said he had asked for information on the payments cleared by Pawar after the end of his tenure. Pawar happens to be a relative of Shiv Sena leader and school education minister Dada Bhuse....