Creating a single authority for Mumbai a top priority: Aaditya Thackeray

Maharashtra minister and Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray on Wednesday said creating a single authority for the financial capital is the top priority for the state government which will help settle better accountabilitySixteen agencies including the city civic body agencies under the state government like MMRDA and Mhada for housing and also some under the Central government like Airports Authority of India and Ports run the financial capital at present he saidExplaining the rationale behind such proposition Aaditya Thackeray who is son of Sena president and Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said a single authority will help set better accountability by fixing responsibility on a single entity for all of the citys requirementsWhat we are looking at now is to have a single authority in Mumbai a single parent body that will run Mumbai Aaditya Thackeray said during a session with industry body CII when asked about what is the top priority for the state government at presentIn the remarks which come amid reports that Shiv Senas alliance partners in the state government are unhappy with such a move Aaditya Thackeray said having such an authority is the first thing of focusThe NCP and the Congress are ruling constituents in the Senaled Maha Vikas Aghadi MVA governmentThe Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai MCGM currently controlled by the Shiv Sena had first made the suggestion of appointing itself as a single authority for the city The Congress and NCP are reportedly peeved at the sameSo when we have a single point authority you also have a single point responsibility You can hold us to more accountability than ever before the tourism minister said without mentioning MCGM as the chosen agencyMeanwhile Aaditya Thackeray said it will take a lot of efforts to dereserve the status granted to the over 800acre green patch at Aarey Colony in suburban Goregaon and stressed that such a status is essential to protect the flora and fauna endemic to the siteHe said Maharashtra will focus on domestic tourists for the next two years as the continuing impact of the coronavirus pandemic will make foreign arrivals difficultThe minister specifically mentioned a policy on beach tourism ease of doing business initiatives for the sector and agritourism as focus areas claiming that hotel properties in the Konkan belt and ones near Mumbai are having full occupancy right nowAssuring the industry captains that the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board MPCB will not poke its nose into affairs of industry Aaditya Thackeray who also handles the environment portfolio said the board will sit together with the industries department to chart out policiesHe said work on 80 per cent of over Rs 130 lakh crore of investment proposals for which Memorandums of Understanding MoU have been signed since June 2020 is underway and advocated coexistence of industry which creates economic growth opportunities while taking care of the environmentThe financial capital is trailing Bengaluru and New Delhi when it comes to startups ecosystem because of the wrong policies in the threefour years and the government wants to catchup on the same he saidThe state is still focused on the USD 1 trillion GSDP aspiration Aaditya Thackeray said choosing not to give a timeline by which it will be achievedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever