BJP-Sena will win all seats in Vid: Mungantiwar

Nagpur: Finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar is confident of BJP and Shiv Sena winning all 10 seats in Vidarbha. According to him, surveys conducted by various TV channels were confirming this. However, some channels have claimed that Congress would bag the Ramtek seat. The local bookies, however, have awarded the seat to Sena.
Talking to scribes of TOI and MT on Sunday, the minister said, “We have set a target of winning all 48 seats in the state. There is perfect consonance between BJP and Sena but there are a lot of differences between Congress and NCP. For example, Hasan Mushrif and Satej Patil are not working for the alliance candidate in Kolhapur. Many Congress and NCP leaders have quit their parties and joined BJP or Sena. NCP chief Sharad Pawar is a worried man.”

Mungantiwar said that preparations for assembly elections slated in October would begin soon after all the four phases of general elections in the state were over. “We have decided that after giving some seats to our allies, we will equally split the seats between BJP and Sena. We will start discussing which party will contest from which seat from May 3. We are confident of retaining power in the state,” he said.

Commenting on the financial condition of the state, he said, “Currently, the state government debt as a percentage of GDP is 14.82%, which is far below the maximum permissible limit of 25%. During Congress-NCP regime, it had touched 28.8%. We required a loan of Rs52,000 crore in 2017-18 but we managed with only Rs11,000 crore.”

On farm loan waiver, he said, “The total amount to be waived off was Rs24,000 crore of which Rs20,000 crore has been disbursed. We have decided to continue the scheme until all eligible beneficiaries get loan waiver, so nobody would be left out.”

The government has not prepared an action taken report (ATR) on Kelkar committee report on regional imbalance in the state. Mungantiwar claimed that allocations have been made in the state budget as per recommendations of the report. “Vidarbha has physical backlog only in irrigation sector,” he said.

On incomplete irrigation projects, the minister said, “We have completed 150 big and small projects. Lower Wardha project is in the final stage of completion. Huge irrigation potential has been created in Gosikhurd project. Big projects need time for completion. Besides some time was lost in sorting out the irrigation scam.”

Mungantiwar said the series of decision taken by him as forest minister will certainly help the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls. “May it be increasing human kill compensation from Rs10 lakh to Rs15 lakh, four times cost of farm land to people ready to move out of tiger reserves, enhancing cattle kill compensation, distribution of LPG to forested villages to reduce biotic pressure, Dr Shyamaprasad Mukherjee Jan Van Yojana and various other schemes to boost 33 crore plantations — all have a wide reach among the rural populace and will certainly help the BJP-Shiv Sena candidates,” said Mungantiwar.

The forest minister admitted that work on Gorewada international zoo project was going on at a slow pace and will be expedited. “We are working on a plan to implementing Haryana (Yamuna Nagar) model of agro-forestry to enhance green cover and industry based on it,” he said.

On the controversial major Human dam project in Chandrapur, which threatens Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR), Mungantiwar said, “Considering the damage to forest and Tadoba, irrigation department has revised its plan which is being studied by experts. Technology has changed over the years and if both, forest protection and irrigation requirement, are met without affecting tigers, the project should be taken up.”