After 500cr, govt clears 275cr more for urban civic amenities before elections | Mumbai News
Mumbai: With an eye on the upcoming local body polls, the cash-strapped Mahayuti govt has approved the release of another Rs 275 crore in funds for civic services and facilities in urban local bodies in the state.Earlier, it had cleared around Rs 500 crore as special funds to municipal corporations and councils in various districts, including Rs 75 crore for Thane Municipal Corporation in deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde’s bastion and Rs 63 crore for civic bodies in Nagpur, the home district of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. The latest tranche of funds was allocated to municipal corporations, municipal councils and nagar panchayats in Mumbai, Pune, Nasik, Amravati, Gondia, Nagpur, Nanded, Beed and Ahilyanagar districts, among others. Kalyan-Dombivli, Vasai-Virar and Mira-Bhayander municipal corporations also stand to gain. A sum of Rs 75 lakh has been allocated for a tennis court and another Rs 75 lakh for a football turf, martial arts centre and sports complex in Pimpri-Chinchwad. Of Rs 5 crore for Dhule Municipal Corporation, Rs 3 crore is to go towards setting up a garden and Rs 2 crore for the dome of Jawahar stadium. In Borivli West, Rs 1.5 crore has been allocated for development of three gardens. In Wardha’s Deoli Municipal Council, Rs 25 lakh will be used for construction of a fountain. The state issued 54 govt resolutions just ahead of Diwali allocating Rs 5 crore to the urban local bodies. In the case of Warud Municipal Council in Amravati, Rs 10 crore will be used for development of the weekly market. NCp (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar alleged that the funds had been allocated in the constituencies of Mahayuti MLAs. “Govt has no money to pay Rs 80,000 crore owed to middle-class Marathi contractors. But it does have money to give Rs 5 crore to each of the ruling MLAs of the ruling party alone,” he tweeted. “This is political jugglery to buy votes for the local self-govt institutions using money from the govt treasury in the guise of development funds. It is a mockery of democracy.” Among the funds allocated for BMC, Rs 5 crore has been earmarked for Anushakti Nagar, the constituency of Sana Malik, first-time MLA from NCP and the daughter of former minister Nawab Malik. Another Rs 5 crore has been set aside for development work in Borivli West, BJP MLA Sanjay Upadhyay.With the state facing a massive financial crunch, govt had tightened the purse strings on public works like roads, bridges and other infrastructure projects, saying it is necessary to limit the number of newly sanctioned works. The state’s debt is projected to be Rs 9.3 lakh crore, over 10% higher than Rs 8.39 lakh crore in 2024-25.
