Former Maharshtra minister Aditya Thackeray today accused the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government of slowing down and stalling development projects in Mumbai. Focussing on the financial capital with elections to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) -- the richest civic body in the country controlled so far by the Shiv Sena -- scheduled next month, he said the Maha Vika Aghadi (MVA) government led by his father Uddhav Thackeray tried to bring in a lot of projects into Mumbai but the new government has tried to stop everything.
"The Chief Minister was from Mumbai and we tried to bring a lot of projects in the city," he said, adding that only three things happen in BMC now -- tender, transfer, timepass.
"After the formation of new government, the new Chief Minister said that we will give Rs 5,000 crore for the roads of Mumbai and our roads will be pothole free. A tender of Rs 5,000 crore was released but was recalled a few days back," he said.
Aditya Thackeray said the future of Mumbai's roads under the current government was uncertain, and people shouldn't believe anyone who says they will concretize the streets overnight.
"You need to take permission, work with 16 different agencies and work with Mumbai traffic police. My question is when you started the tender of Rs 5,000 crore, why did you recall it? When will you start the new tender and when will the work be done?" he questioned the state government.
"Work on the streets of Mumbai has been slowed down. If you find potholes next year, the current Chief Minister will be responsible," he added.
Taking a dig at the money released for 'beautification', Mr Thackeray said beautification isn't just putting up LED lights everywhere.
"Rs 1,700 crore has been provided for beautification. However, this amount was supposed to be released to the corporators of BMC. It has now been diverted for beautification," he said.
Mr Thackeray lashed out at the state, claiming there was no clarity being in the BMC or the Maharashtra government on who is approving or giving instruction for projects in Mumbai.
"This government is just a 'transfer government'. In the last 15 years, there have been several officers who have been working very hard in the BMC but now some of them have been transferred three to five times in three days. Why is there so much confusion, no one knows. The government should speak about this soon," he said.
Mumbai is very important for the state and all projects need to be completed, Aditya Thackeray stressed, mentioning some projects which the previous government started but the work is stalled now.
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