Opposition parties alleged in the state assembly on Wednesday that the government has decided to divert 135 thousand million cubic (TMC) water from Maharashtra to Gujarat. If it happens, farmers in North Maharashtra, Marathwada and Mumbai will be the most severely affected, leading to more farmer suicides.
Opposition parties alleged in the state assembly on Wednesday that the government has decided to divert 135 thousand million cubic (TMC) water from Maharashtra to Gujarat. If it happens, farmers in North Maharashtra, Marathwada and Mumbai will be the most severely affected, leading to more farmer suicides.
Senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal said the move will also result in Mumbai city losing 20 TMC water. "In 2010, the government might have felt that it would not be able to bring the 135 TMC to Maharashtra and, hence, made an MoU with the Gujarat government... But now, the situation has changed. We are facing huge scarcity of water; Marathwada became the driest region because of drought-like conditions. In such a grim situation, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis should not succumb to any pressure and immediately cancel the MoU," Bhujbal added.
He also said the MoU is not the final agreement and that the Maharashtra government has full right to terminate it. "We are losing one thing after another since the BJP came to power. The coast guard training institute, which was proposed at Palghar, has been shifted to Gujarat. Many offices of Reserve Bank of India have been relocated to Delhi. The government is reducing the importance of Mumbai and Maharashtra," Bhujbal added.
He said 9.5km of the tunnel that brings the water to Maharashtra has nearly been completed. "The CM should complete the remaining work, so that from next monsoon, we will start getting the 135 TMC. It will be a great relief to farmers," Bhujbal said.
However, irrigation minister Girish Mahajan retorted that the earlier government was the one that had made the agreement, and now, sitting in opposition, they want it cancelled. A final reply is yet to come on the issue.
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