No money to implement plans, says Bhujbal

The public works and tourism departments do not have enough money to implement their plans, said public works minister Chhagan Bhujbal on Thursday. HT reports.

The public works and tourism departments do not have enough money to implement their plans, said public works minister Chhagan Bhujbal on Thursday.

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“We have land but no money to develop it. Therefore, we invite private players to do the work and they play a crucial role in development,” Bhujbal said at the launch of an agreement between the Maharashtra Economic Development Council and Lambda-Alpha Intern-ational for appropriate land use.

Bhujbal said he is unhappy over the inadequate allocation of funds to his departments — public works and tourism — in the budget presented by deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar.

The PWD and tourism departments were granted Rs2,700 crore and Rs91 crore respectively for the current financial year against the demand of Rs 6,000 crore for PWD.

The current year has been declared as tourism year for Maharashtra but the budget provided was 50% lesser than last year’s Rs183 crore.

The Central government, however, recently sanctioned Rs225 crore for the state’s coastal tourism development after the state ministry submitted an action plan to the Centre.

While speaking about the delays in government projects, Bhujbal said, “Unfortunately, sometimes political rivalry hinders development.”

When asked whether he meant to target the deputy chief minister by his comments he said, “The government has its own limitations while allocating the budget. Everyone wanted more than what they got last year. Even I wanted but it does not mean I will get it.”

“We just need to market the state’s tourist destinations well because awareness about them is low. We also need to improve connectivity to reach these places.”