Maharashtra: Congress criticizes BJP over irrigation spending; Chavan demands probe

The Congress claimed Wednesday that despite the BJP-led Maharashtra government spending more than Rs 64,000 crore on upgrading water resources in the last four years, there has been no substantial increase in the state's irrigation potential. State Congress chief Ashok Chavan demanded a probe to find out if there were any irregularities in the spending of these funds. "In the last four years, the total amount spent, with revised administrative approvals, on all irrigation projects has been over Rs 64,000 crore. But this has not increased the irrigation potential of the state," he said.

As per the 15th Finance Commission, only 18 percent of the state's total cultivable land is irrigated. Chavan said the finance commission's findings of the state have shown a "mirror" to the ruling BJP, which had accused the previous Congress-NCP government of financial mismanagement. Till 2013-14, the total debt of the state was Rs 2.69 lakh crore. But in the last four years, the amount doubled, the former chief minister claimed.

The fiscal deficit has gone up to 3 percent (in the BJP-led government's tenure) from 1.7 percent in 2013-14. In 2013, the revenue deficit was 0.3 percent of the GSDP while now it is 0.5 percent, Chavan further said. The finance committee has said that the debt amount is being used to meet the administrative expenses, he pointed out, claiming there is no increase in the state's revenue.

In a veiled reference to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Chavan claimed that despite the current leadership hailing from Vidarbha, the region's development has not picked up the pace and that Marathwada has also suffered. Fadnavis hails from Nagpur district in Vidarbha.