I have cleared more files than any other CM: Prithviraj Chavan

If there is one allegation that has dogged Prithviraj Chavanrsquos fouryear tenure as Maharashtra chief minister it is that he is slow be it in terms of decisionmaking or file clearance His own Congress colleagues those from party ally NCP the opposition and even staff from departments under him have complained rather publicly about his lethargic pace without getting an apt rejoinderChavan used the opportunity to hit back at his detractors both within and outside the party and declare that the Congress would bounce back from its LS defeat File picThat last part however changed yesterday In a freewheeling chat with select journalists Chavan hit out hard at his detractors both within the party and outside it and sought to prove them wrong on being slow by presenting facts and figures He also spoke about raging controversies such as Maharashtra Sadan the irrigation scam and Natwar Singhrsquos revelationsHare not tortoiseldquoI have cleared more files than any other CMrdquo Chavan said adding that anybody could verify his claim as data on files from 1999 onwards was available with the administration The other CMs since then have been Ashok Chavan late Vilasrao Deshmukh and Sushilkumar ShindeldquoThe allegations over slow decisionmaking are made by a section of people particularly those who are interested in land matters and construction If a file is in order it will be cleared in the normal course by people in the lower ranks of the state administration But files that require policy changes come to me as certain powers are vested with me as the CM and head of the urban development department The files or proposals of certain concessions or a hike in FSI come to merdquo he saidldquoA section of people are hurt as they have enjoyed a slew of concessions There has been a case in which a parking lot with 26 floors was developed as per a policy that was introduced in the past If a builder constructs a parking lot he gets incentive FSI against that But after going through such cases I decided to link such concessions given to builders with premium payable to BMC and government and as a result Rs 3000 crore was added to the state and BMC coffers which can be used for public purposeI have decided to make it binding to reserve 20 of dwellings for economically weaker sections in big layouts Also clearance was given for a slum policy with a cutoff date of 2000 as promised by us in the 2004 and 2009 assembly elections Some major infrastructure projects have been cleared or speeded up in recent months The land compensation offered by CIDCO is among the highest and the process has the utmost transparencySpecial attention was given to the drought situation and we have spent Rs 12000 crore on it Going towards the root cause a major push was given for construction of barrages and water tanks As many as 3000 water tanks have been constructed recently At one village in Karad tehsil there are 23 barrages now and in places where drinking water was an issue farmers are now planning two crops in a yearA major policy decision was also taken to provide twoyear training to state government employees across cadres It is going to benefit in the long term as it will increase coordination among state officials who rarely know each other unlike the IAS IPS or IRS cadre officers who undergo joint training sessions organised by the Centrerdquo the chief minister saidOn Maharashtra SadanldquoAn inquiry is on in the Maharashtra Sadan case and a team went there on Tuesday Reports about the Ganesh Festival not being allowed are not true In fact employees working there have formed a society and they organise Ganeshotsav each year and the state government gives them Rs 10 lakh for this There is no question of seeking permission from anybodyThe basic issue in the controversy was the allotment of a suite to Dr Satyapal Singh The suites to MPs were made available according to the request by th secretary general of the Parliament But while distributing it among MPs there was little choice as suites at the Sadan are built as per the requirements of dignitaries such as Governors CMs Dy CMs and ministersIt does not have single or double bedrooms like in hotels So an allotment of a bigger suite to Dr Singh may have upset the Sena MPs The Sadan construction was like a barter deal The sadanrsquos Resident Commissioner Bipin Malik and the developer and contractor Avinash Chamankar do not get along The contractor does not take care of the maintenance as per the agreement There was an attempt to allot the catering service contract to a particular agencyOn limitationsThere were limitations to go further on the basis of the PAC report on Maharashtra Sadan and Chitale panel report on irrigation scam as we are in an allianceOn MahayutiThe BJP will miss Modi as he is not the sole face now unlike in the Lok Sabha elections where he sought votes for making him PM The BJP is missing leaders of the stature of Pramod Mahajan and Gopinath Munde Who is going to hold discussions with the alliance partners Even seat sharing between the Mahayuti partners will not be a smooth affair If the BJP contests 119 seats how will it install its CMCongrsquos not finishedThere have been occasions in the past in which the Congress was considered finished But this was proved wrong even after the partyrsquos worst defeat in 1977 We are shellshocked after the Lok Sabha debacle Our focus for the state assembly polls is on the achievements of the state government Our thrust will be on social media and direct connect with the peoplelsquoNatwarrsquos wrongrsquoOn claims made by former Union Minister Natwar Singh about Rahul Gandhirsquos role in Congress chief Sonia Gandhirsquos decision to stay away from the coveted PMrsquos chair Chavan refused to say muchThe CM who is considered close to 10 Janpath and a trusted man of the Gandhi family said ldquoThe phase in which Sonia Gandhi decided to reject the Prime Ministerrsquos chair was certainly an emotional one But the contention that the government files were routed to her at 10 Janpath is not truerdquo