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This is an archive article published on December 19, 2022

Day before Maharashtra Assembly session, Opposition slams govt over ‘selective development’

Accusing the state government of causing “regional imbalance in developmental works”, Leader of Opposition in the state Legislative Assembly, Ajit Pawar, on Sunday said, “While the government is raising loan amounting to Rs 60,000 crore for infrastructure works in the MMR, it has put a stay on developmental projects in rest of the state.”

Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Eknath Shinde, Devendra Fadnavis, Maharashtra assembly, Ajit Pawar, Mumbai news, Maharashtra, Indian Express, current affairsEknath Shinde and Devendra Fadnavis
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Day before Maharashtra Assembly session, Opposition slams govt over ‘selective development’
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WITH A day to go for the Winter Session of the Maharashtra Legislature, the Opposition is set to corner the Shinde-Fadnavis government on the issue of pushing development only in selective regions of the state.

While Opposition parties in the state continue to raise the demand for the resignation of Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari and target the government for losing large industrial projects to Gujarat, they also plan to corner the ruling side by highlighting the prominence given to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde “at the expense of the rest of the state”.

Accusing the state government of causing “regional imbalance in developmental works”, Leader of Opposition in the state Legislative Assembly, Ajit Pawar, on Sunday said, “While the government is raising loan amounting to Rs 60,000 crore for infrastructure works in the MMR, it has put a stay on developmental projects in rest of the state.”

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He was speaking to reporters on the eve of the Winter Session of the Maharashtra legislature, which will begin on December 19. “This government has a policy of availing loans for and ensuring the development of selected regions only,” he said.

Taunting how the government of Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis was known as ‘khoka sarkar (a government formed after accepting boxes full of money)’, Pawar said it should also be termed a ‘stay government’ for all the stays it has imposed on developmental projects across the state.

“The MVA government gave more funds to DPDCs (district planning and development committees), but this government issued stays. While it focuses on MMR, attention should also be given to other regions,” he said. The new government of Shinde-Fadnavis had stayed projects approved under the DPDC, work orders for which were issued in the ongoing fiscal.

Shinde hails from Thane, neighbouring Mumbai, and his area of influence lies within the MMR and the municipal corporations included therein, such as Thane, Navi Mumbai, Kalyan-Dombivli, Mira Road-Bhayander, Vasai-Virar, Ulhasnagar and Panvel.

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Reigniting the debate of backlogs in the Vidarbha region, Pawar said the most stays issued by the new government were for projects in Vidarbha. “We, on the contrary, did not stop any funds allocated for Vidarbha or Marathwada. Our priority is to focus on issues concerning these regions and we will ensure that they are raised in this session,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Opposition parties including the NCP, Congress and Shiv Sena along with other smaller parties wrote to Shinde announcing a boycott of the tea party it had called on the eve of the Winter Session.

In a letter to Shinde, the Opposition labelled the government as inactive when the projects were leaving Maharashtra, leading to disappointment among youths over losing jobs. It also raised the issue of lack of aid from the government to areas affected by heavy rainfall.

Recalling the continued statements by ministers, BJP leaders and the governor about Maharashtra’s icons such as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Mahatma Phule Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, Karmaveer Bhaurao Patil and Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj, the Opposition accused the ruling party of failing to take any action against them.

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It also accused the state government of failing to safeguard the interests of Maharashtra in a border dispute with Karnataka and said that while the Karnataka Chief Minister was making provocative statements, Maharashtra’s CM and DCM chose to stay quiet.

“The government has not only failed to protect the interests of its people, but it has even failed to safeguard the incoming development,” Pawar alleged.

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