Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Narayan Rane threatens to quit, raises queries
Maharashtra Revenue Minister Narayan Rane has threatened to quit over a Cabinet decision on Tuesday to allot 100 hectares of prime land to Videocon Industries'.
He had been raising issues of ‘non-performance’ of the government in the last three years but now had reached a point when he wanted to quit, he said. Mr. Rane attacked the government for selling the land for Rs. 300 crore when it could have been auctioned for at least Rs. 3,000 crore. The land spread over three villages Vahalgaon, Kamothe Node and Karanjade in Navi Mumbai was in a residential zone. The land valuation was all wrong and it was even less than the current residential price.
The state was facing a drought and had no money for some critical projects, he said. Listing his grievances, he said that Rs. 11 crore was overdue in the package for fisherfolk in the Konkan, and there was a backlog of Rs. 300 crore in the irrigation projects in the Konkan as well. The government was cash-strapped even to pay its diesel bills and it could not even implement the loan waiver properly, he said.
IMO: Does not look good to me, and appears significant at least locally.
This is Mr Rane’s third resignation threat. A month back, he had promised to walk out of the Cabinet over reasons he refused to disclose. In February this year, he had announced his plans to quit at a press meet in Delhi, only to change his mind later.
IMO: Even so, it looks bad. No minister had ever lodged a written protest over a Cabinet decision in the state’s history. “It’s unprecedented. Obviously, there is more to it than what meets the eye ,” said a Congress minister, on condition of anonymity.
Maharashtra Revenue Minister Narayan Rane has threatened to quit over a Cabinet decision on Tuesday to allot 100 hectares of prime land to Videocon Industries'.
He had been raising issues of ‘non-performance’ of the government in the last three years but now had reached a point when he wanted to quit, he said. Mr. Rane attacked the government for selling the land for Rs. 300 crore when it could have been auctioned for at least Rs. 3,000 crore. The land spread over three villages Vahalgaon, Kamothe Node and Karanjade in Navi Mumbai was in a residential zone. The land valuation was all wrong and it was even less than the current residential price.
The state was facing a drought and had no money for some critical projects, he said. Listing his grievances, he said that Rs. 11 crore was overdue in the package for fisherfolk in the Konkan, and there was a backlog of Rs. 300 crore in the irrigation projects in the Konkan as well. The government was cash-strapped even to pay its diesel bills and it could not even implement the loan waiver properly, he said.
IMO: Does not look good to me, and appears significant at least locally.
This is Mr Rane’s third resignation threat. A month back, he had promised to walk out of the Cabinet over reasons he refused to disclose. In February this year, he had announced his plans to quit at a press meet in Delhi, only to change his mind later.
IMO: Even so, it looks bad. No minister had ever lodged a written protest over a Cabinet decision in the state’s history. “It’s unprecedented. Obviously, there is more to it than what meets the eye ,” said a Congress minister, on condition of anonymity.
# posted by uv : 4:40 PM
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