Mumbai: Rs 3,500 cr could have been saved if roads had been concretised 15 years ago, says CM Eknath Shinde

Amid a call by the Shiv Sena UBT to hold a protest against irregularities in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said that about Rs 3500 crore could have been saved had the roads of Mumbai been concretised 15 years agoAddressing a function in Thane Shinde said the ruling partners of Shiv Sena and BJP have initiated a programme to make Mumbai roads not only potholefree but also concretised in two to three years reported news agency PTIThis they could have done he said without naming his former leader Uddhav Thackeray who headed the undivided Shiv Sena reported PTIThe BMC Indias richest civic body was ruled by the Shiv Sena from 1997 to 2022 The party split last year following a rebellion by Eknath Shinde who then joined hands with the BJP to become the CM Uddhav Thackeray now leads the other faction Shiv Sena UBTWe have taken up work on 450 km of roads in the first phase costing Rs 6000 crore and another 450 km in the second phase The same will be replicated in Thane too Eknath Shinde was quoted as saying by news agency PTIThe Shiv Sena UBT on Tuesday announced that it will on July 1 organise a morcha outside the BMC to protest irregularities in its functioningNotably Shinde on Monday approved setting up a Special Investigation Team SIT to probe irregularities worth Rs 12024 crore in various works of the Mumbai civic body when MVA was in power flagged by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India CAGOn the first anniversary of the revolt helmed by him Shinde said they wanted a natural alliance but something else happened referring to Thackerays decision to be a part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi MVA that also comprises the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party NCPOur thoughts about BJP and Shiv Sena cordially working together were being broken and twisted Hence we took the extreme step of breaking away he said Shinde expressed confidence that this government will complete one year on June 30 and move aheadThe CM said one could not sit at home in the name of Covid19 and stop everything adding that their government opened all activitiesOn Thackerays criticism of iquestsplurgingiquest money in the name of organising events related to G20 and road concretisation in the financial capital Shinde asked Do you want to showcase to foreign delegates the slums or the best of things in MumbaiHe said spending money on such events was a necessity Even the Sherpa of G20 Amitabh Kant and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have appreciated our presentation of the city he saidShinde listed out many ongoing projects that he said will save money and time He said the missing link on the MumbaiPune Expressway between Khopoli and Sinhaghad Institute is being taken up Once complete it will cut travel time to Pune by half an hour he saidThe 22kmlong Mumbai TransHarbour Link project between Sewree and Nhava Sheva will reduce the present travel time of 2 hours to just 1520 minutes he saidThe CM also referred to a proposed tunnel between Thane and Borivali and an elevated road all the way up to Fountain Hotel at the end of Ghobunder Road to reduce congestion in Thane cityShinde also responded to Sena UBTs allegations that Rs 7000 crore to Rs 9000 crore has been spent from the BMCs fixed deposits in an attempt to empty Mumbais coffersBefore the Shiv SenaBJP government took over Shinde said the BMC had FDs of Rs 77000 crore and it has now risen to Rs 88000Even after spending this much there is a balance of Rs 88000 crore This means the FDs have increased by Rs 11000 crore Where was this money all these years he askedWith inputs from PTI