Shinde-Fadnavis government scraps rural development works of around ₹800 crore

It will be applicable to all the development works approved since April 1, 2010, for which a work order is yet to be issued or on which actual work has not begun even after the issuance of work orders.

Mumbai: The Shinde-Fadnavis government has decided to scrap several development works approved by the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in the last 19 months. These projects were meant to provide basic facilities to rural areas.

Since its formation, the Shinde-Fadnavis government has stayed or revoked many decisions taken by the previous government. (PTI)

With this decision, it is estimated that development works to the tune of ₹800 crore have been scrapped. Confirming the development, rural development minister Girish Mahajan cited irrationality in the allotment of works as the reason behind the move.

An order to this effect was issued by the state rural development department on Wednesday. It will be applicable to all the development works approved since April 1, 2010, for which a work order is yet to be issued or on which actual work has not begun even after the issuance of work orders. It includes the construction of internal roads and boundary walls, drainage systems, public toilets, community halls and improvement of burial grounds among others.

Earlier, all these works had been stayed by the Shinde-Fadnavis government. Now they have been scrapped with immediate effect.

“Following the directives issued by the chief secretary in letters dated July 19 and July 25, all the development works suggested by public representatives to provide basic facilities to villages since April 1, 2021, have been stayed. As the list of all these works has been provided by the concerned zilla parishads and public works department, they now stand cancelled,” states the order, a copy of which is with Hindustan Times.

The erstwhile government was partial towards Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLAs, Mahajan claimed. “There were many MLAs who were overlooked while approving development works in the villages,” he told HT. “The majority of the MLAs would get development works between ₹25 lakh and ₹50 lakh approved but a group of select MLAs, mostly from the NCP, got projects approved in their constituencies whose budgets ran into crores. The decision was wrong and irrational, and thus it has been scrapped. Partiality by any government is not acceptable.”

Since its formation, the Shinde-Fadnavis government has stayed or revoked many decisions taken by the previous government. On July 17 this year, it cancelled appointments on all the government-run corporations, boards and committees. It has also stayed funds approved by the previous government from April 2021 for development works in which tenders were not issued. It has further stayed all land allotment decisions taken by the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) between the months of June and July.

The NCP slammed the Shinde-Fadnavis government’s decision. “A government is expected to take the state forward by taking up new development works but staying or scrapping the works approved by the previous government will push the state backward,” said Jayant Patil, Maharashtra president of the NCP.