E-Paper
We’ve neglected urban growth, Pawar confesses
With the civic polls barely two weeks away, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday said that his generation of politicians, particularly the Congress-NCP leadership, which has a rural background, has failed to pay enough attention to the problems arising out of rapid urbanisation.
With the civic polls barely two weeks away, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday said that his generation of politicians, particularly the Congress-NCP leadership, which has a rural background, has failed to pay enough attention to the problems arising out of rapid urbanisation.
Addressing a press conference, Pawar said: “I, too, did not give serious thought to the issues in urban centres. But the process of urbanisation is so rapid that we need to sit together and chalk out a plan. Otherwise, the situation will be very serious,” he said.
The NCP is contesting elections to all the municipal corporations for the first time because of this changing scenario in Maharashtra, he said. “We will have to take equal care of urban centres along with rural problems and adopt some measures to stop the exodus to cities,” he said.
Pawar justified his party’s decision to fight against the Congress in some zilla parishad elections by saying: “All parties have the right to expand their base. We are doing this job very seriously and our workers are doing satisfactory work in their respective areas. Where there is no BJP-Shiv Sena, we are fighting against each other.”
