Under flak from the Opposition for his Government’s “failure” to fulfil its various poll promises, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday sought to turn the table on the Congress and NCP, by saying that his Government was trying to find solution to numerous problems created by the two parties in their 15-year rule of the State.
A day after senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal led an Opposition attack against the BJP-led saffron alliance Government for its failure to fulfil its poll promises and asked the State Government to revoke a MoU signed with Gujarat in 2010 that had resulted in Maharashtra losing out 135 TMC of surplus water to the neighbouring State, the CM said that his Government was seeking answers to the numerous problems that surfaced during the previous DF Government.
Replying to a debate in the State Assembly on the motion of thanks for the Governor’s address to a joint sitting of members of the two Houses, Fadnavis said: “You (Congress-NCP) have created the problems. We are trying to find answers...People also know that mistakes of 15 years can’t be rectified in three to four months. This Government will ensure transformation of the State”.
Contesting a statement by former Deputy CM Ajit Pawar who had claimed credit to launching ‘Jalyutka Shivar’ water conservation programme under which 14 schemes were integrated by the previous Government, Fadnavis said, “If at all credit has to be given for this, it should go to late YB Chavan, who initiated the water conservation work in the State,” he CM said.
“We know that we will never be able to give flow irrigation to 50 per cent farmers in the State. As a result, we will have to undertake a programme to ensure moisture security to farmers,” Fadnavis said. “For this campaign, the district collector has been made the nodal authority to ensure coordination with 14 departments concerned,” Fadnavis said.
Dwelling upon the damage caused to standing crops by the recent unseasonal rains, the CM said, “India Meteorological Department (IMD) has given us alerts. There is a possibility of hailstorm on March 13 and 14,” he said. The CM sought to allay apprehensions expressed by various political parties, including the ruling Shiv Sena, that the Mumbai development plan (DP) would result in large-scale felling of trees. “The apprehensions that the city will lose green spaces are unfounded. The Government will intervene when needed,” Fadnavis said.
He said the State had set up a high-level committee to study the adverse impact of the proposed Mumbai Metro-3 carshed. “The State Government will take all steps to ensure that no Marathi manoos is relocated out of Mumbai or Maharashtra due to any project,” the CM said.