The landslide mandate given to the current regime by voters is an endorsement of the quality of work done by the Mahayuti government, the leader stated. As Shinde concluded his reply, Opposition members apparently tried to object to some of the statements
Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde at Vidhan Bhavan on July 8. FILE PIC/SAYYED SAMEER ABEDI
Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde launched a veiled attack on Uddhav and Raj Thackeray while claiming that Mumbaikars would witness pothole-free roads in the city for the next 25 years. The deputy chief minister slammed Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav allegedly for siding with contractors and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj for opportunistically raking up the issue of Mumbai’s separation from Maharashtra in the run-up to the polls.
Shinde stated that for them (the Mahyuti government), 'Mumbai first' was the policy, but for others, a reference to Sena UBT, the policy was always contractor-first. “By December 2027, all roads in Mumbai will be of cement concrete. Mumbai will be pothole-free for the next 25 years. Road maintenance costs will not be there,” the deputy chief minister added.
Shinde was replying, on Thursday, to queries raised by the members of the Legislative Assembly in debate held under rule 293 of the Maharashtra Legislature, which allows members to deliberate on matters of public concern.
Shinde mentioned that in the erstwhile government (when he was chief minister), now Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and I called the then Municipal Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal. “We [Shinde and Fadnavis] asked the civic chief about the poor road quality. He replied that every year, 50 km of road are concreted. We asked if there was any rule limiting the length of roads that could be concreted, to which the municipal commissioner replied in the negative,” Shinde stated.
The earlier government decided to complete the concreting of all roads in two phases. “Some of the roads are done; the remaining will be completed by December 2027,” Shinde added. The deputy chief minister further questioned why Marathi speakers were dislodged from Mumbai and forced to leave the city. “Our policy, infrastructure-related work and development of the city are aimed at bringing back the Marathi people to Mumbai,” Shinde mentioned.
Anti-Raj salvo
Taking a veiled dig at the MNS chief, Shinde stated that every time an election drew near, the issue of Mumbai being separated from Maharashtra was raked up. “Amhi Mumbai jodnyache kam kartho [We are doing the job of unifying Mumbai], take example of Atal Sethu, Coastal Road, Metro,” Shinde said, uttering the phrase ‘Swarthacha zenda and satecha agenda (flag of self-interest and agenda of power)’.
The landslide mandate given to the current regime by voters is an endorsement of the quality of work done by the Mahayuti government, the leader stated. As Shinde concluded his reply, Opposition members apparently tried to object to some of the statements.
However, Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar cited the rule book, which categorically mentions that only members who initiated the debate (in this case, UBT MLA Aaditya Thackeray) could ask for the right to reply. Since Aaditya was not present, the speaker refused to allow Opposition members to reply. As an uproar in the assembly over this issue ensued, Narwekar adjourned the House for ten minutes.
When proceedings resumed, Shinde Sena camp leader Shambhuraj Desai demanded action against Aaditya and another Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA, Bhaskar Jadhav. Even Shinde agreed that members of the Opposition benches should try to maintain decorum and avoid pointing fingers at the speaker. “Members should know that the decision taken by the speaker is final,” Shinde added.
Finally, Narwekar said, “If Aaditya Thackeray had been present, he would have been allowed to reply. But, since the member who initiated the debate is not there, I am moving ahead with the proceedings [next business of the Assembly].”
Other highlights of Shinde’s reply
On hawkers: The deputy CM said that the hawkers’ survey was conducted, and of one lakh, only 30,000 were found to be licensed. “The case is sub judice. Once the hearing is done, hawking and non-hawking zones will be marked. As hawkers will not be allowed beyond designated areas, pedestrians will find roads free of vendors,” he said.
Mithi river cleaning row: Actor Dino Morea is being investigated by authorities in connection with irregularities in contracts for the cleaning of the Mithi river. “Tyani zar thond ugadla tar barycah lokancha morya hoi [If he — referring to Morea — opens his mouth, it will spell trouble for many],” Shinde said in veiled reference to Aaditya Thackeray, who is said to be good friends with the actor. On the airport funnel zone impacting redevelopment: “No government did anything concrete to provide relief to residents who are unable to opt for redevelopment due to the restriction on the height of structures falling in the airport funnel zone. “We are allowing the sale of TDR [transferable development rights] to make this project viable on a no-profit-no-loss basis,” Shinde added.
Hike in BEST fares: BEST bus fares were hiked after 10 years. Prior to this, the BEST was earning 1.9 crore per day, which has increased to R2.73 crore per day. On an average, 24 lakh passengers use BEST buses daily.
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