MUMBAI, NOV 2: With the Mantralaya not being big enough for chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh's size 55 cabinet, nine ministers will be elbowed out in the rush for cabins. Worse still, these nine ministers would also not get to live in the bungalows which are allotted to the ministers.Such is the gravity of the situation that the chief minister had a marathon meeting with Chief Secretary Arun Bongirwar and Principal Secretary Suresh Kumar. ``We explored all possibilities. Under the existing situation, it will be impossible to provide office premises to nine Ministers of State either in Mantralaya or the state-owned Manora guest house, Nariman Point in near future,'' a senior official told The Indian Express.The Ministers of State who are without office space are : Hemant Deshmukh (Labour, Employment and Self Employment), Nawab Malik (Housing and Slum Improvement), Sulekha Kumbare (Water Supply and Sanitation), Mohan Patil (Horticulture), Basavraj Patil (Rural Development), Subhash Thakre(Forest and Environment), Mohamed Arif Khan (Food and Civil Supplies), Gangadhar Gade (Transport) and Ajit Ghorpade (Irrigation).``Since the Chief Minister is keen to provide them office premises in Mantralaya itself, we will have to shift at least a dozen sections to the new Administrative Building across Mantralaya. It will be practically difficult to accept such a proposal since even that building is also overcrowded,'' the official added.So today, apart from Vilasrao Deshmukh and Deputy CM Chhagan Bhujbal, less than half a dozen ministers could actually begin their work in Mantralaya.``It is really unfortunate that we will not be able to sit in Mantralaya despite the fact that we are cabinet members. We are sure, the Chief Minister will find a solution to the problem,'' a Minister of State hoped.Ministers of State for Home Kripa Shankar Singh and Manikrao Thakre, Minister of State for Irrigation Balasaheb Thorat and Minister of State for Higher and Technical Education Anees Ahmed held officialmeetings. ``I discussed the existing status of my department,'' Ahmed said.Restoring law and order situation in the metropolis is the top priority of Kripa Shankar Singh. ``The general impression is that all is not well in Mumbai. We will have to boost the morale of the police force and simultaneously assure the people that here is a government, which really cares for them,'' Kripa Shankar Singh added. Apart from office accommodation, it will be difficult for the Democratic Front government to provide residential premises to the ministers. ``Sooner or later, we will be able to provide them office accommodation, but providing housing premises will be a Herculean task. We have limited number of houses for the cabinet members. At the moment, only three of the ex-ministers have vacated them. And unless, more do so, no houses could be allotted to any of the ministers,'' the official said.Rehabilitation for the sackedReacting to Monday's outburst of the sacked ministers, the Chief Minister saidthat the dismissed ministers will be rehabilitated with dignity. ``Certainly, it was painful to sack the colleagues just three days after the swearing-in, but it was done in larger interest of the front government,'' he said.One of the sacked minister Satish Chaturvedi reiterated that the decision to dismiss the Cabinet members will prove counter-productive for the party. ``For a big party like the Congress, I am a very small man, but the decision was more humiliating for the CM, since it was taken at the instance of the NCP, which has launched a tirade against our leader Sonia Gandhi,'' he added. AICC General Secretary Sushil Kumar Shinde, MPCC President Prataprao Bhosale and Housing Minister Rohidas Patil had a prolonged meeting with Chaturvedi at the latter's residence to take stock of the current political situation. Much to the surprise of Chaturvedi, senior BJP leader and former Public Works Minister Nitin Gadkari also met the sacked minister.
