Ahead of cabinet meeting in Aurangabad, opposition leaders seek answers from govt over past promises made for Marathwada

Danve asked the government to shed more light on the promises made in the past for the region before declaring new ones.Speaking to reporters, AIMIM leader Jaleel said a meeting hall worth Rs 40 crore was then proposed in Aurangabad but it was never built.

Leaders from opposition parties on Thursday sought answers from the Maharashtra government about promises made for the Marathwada region during a cabinet meeting held in Aurangabad in 2016, claiming that many of those remain unfulfilled. A special cabinet meeting has been planned in Aurangabad on September 16, on the eve of the 75th anniversary of the Marathwada freedom struggle, to discuss issues pertaining to the region and find solutions to them.

The Marathwada region was liberated from the rule of the Hyderabad Nizam by Indian forces on September 17, 1948. It now comprises Aurangabad, Nanded, Latur, Jalna, Beed, Parbhani, Osmanabad and Hingoli districts.

While Leader of Opposition in the legislative council Ambadas Danve took to X to criticise the government over the last cabinet meeting, AIMIM Lok Sabha member Imtiaz Jaleel held a press conference here.

Danve, who belongs to the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), said BJP's Devendra Fadnavis was the chief minister during the last 2016 cabinet meeting in Aurangabad. Fadnavis is the "Super CM" even in the present government, he said.

The opposition leader said works worth Rs 49,020 crore had been announced for Marathwada then.

Of these announcements, Danve demanded answers from the government over an "incomplete memorial" of Shiv Sena founder late Bal Thackeray in Aurangabad, "delay" in the work pertaining to a museum at the archaeological site of Ter in Osmanabad" and "pending development of Mhaismal village located in Ellora mountain ranges".

The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the government about what he called the non-implementation of the plan to develop Nanded district's Mahur town, which is known for its Renuka Devi temple.

A dairy scheme for 1,000 villages in the region was never implemented, while land for a textile park in Parbhani district is yet to be identified, he claimed. Danve said the Beed-Parli-Ahmednagar railway line is incomplete. Citing a plan to expand the Aurangabad airport, he wondered if the state wrote any letters for flights to new cities. Danve asked the government to shed more light on the promises made in the past for the region before declaring new ones.

Speaking to reporters, AIMIM leader Jaleel said a meeting hall worth Rs 40 crore was then proposed in Aurangabad but it was never built. "As a result, the government has to hold the cabinet at the Aurangabad Smart City office. No fund was allotted to the rural education and research institute named after BJP stalwart Gopinath Munde," he said.

He claimed that a proposal to declare Aurangabad a World Heritage city was supposed to be submitted by the local administration to the state, but it was never sent. Despite an announcement to increase the number of staffers working for caste verification at the district level, these offices are working at 50 per cent capacity, Jaleel alleged.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)