Special cabinet meeting in Aurangabad today

Opposition parties in Maharashtra question the state government's lavish spending on a cabinet meeting amid a drought-like situation in the region.

Strap: Oppn questions lavish spending amid drought-like situation

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Mumbai A special meeting of the state cabinet is being held in Aurangabad on Saturday. The meeting is being held in Marathwada after seven years on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of ‘Marathwada Liberation Day’, also known as Marathwada Mukti Sangram, which is celebrated on September 17.

However, the lavish arrangements made by the state government have led to raised eyebrows and kicked up a political shindig. The Opposition has questioned the expenditure of the Shinde government on a meeting which has been convened to discuss, among other things, the drought-like situation in half of Maharashtra.

For the meeting, the government has booked over 100 rooms in star hotels, put in service about 300 vehicles and hired a caterer who will charge over ₹1,000 a plate. Deviating from tradition, a chief minister will for the first time stay in a five-star hotel instead of Subhedari, the government guest house.

According to information, the administration has made grand preparations for the ministerial council and government officials travelling to Aurangabad. It has booked around 30 rooms at Hotel Rama International, 40 rooms at Hotel Taj, 70 rooms at Hotel Amarpreet, 40 rooms at Hotel Ambassador Ajanta and some more rooms at Lemon Tree Hotel and The Fern Residency. For government staff, there are 100 rooms at Marathwada Mahsul Prashikshan Prabodhini, 100 rooms at Patidar Bhavan, and 20 rooms each at rest houses such as Subhedari, Water and Land Management Institute (WALMI) and Sinchan Bhavan.

Opposition parties have slammed the government for squandering money on lavish facilities when the situation in the state and Marathwada region was grim. Vijay Wadettiwar, leader of the opposition in the assembly, said the government ought to be ashamed of its profligacy. “Most of the farmer suicides have taken place in Marathwada, and around 196 talukas are facing a drought-like situation,” he said. “Is the government coming to hold a cabinet meeting or for tourism? Why do they need five-star arrangements for a cabinet meeting?” Wadettiwar also expressed surprise at extravagances such as a caterer charging over ₹1,000 a plate.

The leader of the opposition also sought to know about a package of schemes worth ₹49,800 announced by the then chief minister Devendra Fadnavis after a cabinet meeting in Marathwada in 2014. The question was asked in response to news reports that the state government is likely to announce a package of schemes worth over ₹50,000 crore in the special cabinet meeting on Saturday.

Wadettiwar’s questions were countered by state forest minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, who said that successive Congress governments were responsible for the backwardness of the region. “They do not have the right to question us when we are out to give justice to Marathwada,” Mungantiwar told reporters. “Congress governments failed to develop the region. They also scrapped the Marathwada statutory board and are now questioning us. They should apologise for their failures.”