Taking a jibe at chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, NCP leader Ajit Pawar on Sunday advised him to take “fast decisions” rather than worrying about his image. Speaking at the state NCP’s convention in Pune, Mr Pawar also defended giving away land to the ultra-swanky Lavasa hill township project to BJP president Nitin Gadkari’s Poorthy Trust and rubbished reports of infighting in the Pawar clan.
Continuing his tirade against the CM for “not taking quick decisions”, Mr Pawar gave the example of the Mantralaya makeover project. “Immediately after the June 21 fire in Mantralaya, PWD minister Chhagan Bhujbal had estimated the cost of repairs at `90 crore. However, nothing moved for the next three months and now tenders of `175 crore have been floated. The cost may still escalate. Bold decisions need to be taken to avoid delay and losses in favour of the state. However, some people think only of their own image.”
Mr Pawar also defended the hill township project, saying that only 30 acres of cultivable land with a market price of `18.55 lakh was acquired for the project for 30 years. “Lavasa corporation has already paid a rent of `22 lakh to the Krishna Valley Project Authority for the same. The rent will be paid for a further 20 years and the land will still remain with the state,” he said.
The NCP leader also rubbished allegations levelled against him by the IAC that he gave 100 acres of land to BJP president Nitin Gadkari free of cost. “Gadkari saheb had come up with a good proposal in the interest of farmers. I checked it and sanctioned it in four days. However, people asked why did I take such little time? Were they expecting me to take four months or four years? Instead of doing all this, they should focus on finding out whether there were any irregularities,” said Mr Pawar. The NCP leader also dismissed suggestions of fissures in the Pawar family as rumours.