Leaders of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) staged a protest at the Maharashtra legislature complex on Wednesday, the third day of the monsoon session of the Maharashtra assembly.
The opposition shouted slogans standing on the steps of the Vidhan Bhavan (Maharashtra legislature complex building) here, accusing the Fadnavis government of favouring a private company called Megha Engineering & Infrastructure Ltd, which had bagged a major tunnel project in Thane, and alleging that the deal involved a Rs 3,000-crore scam.
“Megha Engineering and Infrastructure is the government’s favourite contractor,” and “Megha gets the cream while farmers remain hungry” were some of the slogans raised by MVA opposition leaders.
MVA opposition MLAs and Members of Legislative Council (MLCs) also raised slogans alleging the government cancelled the deal later on, only because it feared action by the Supreme Court.
The opposition’s reference was to the tender process for the Thane-Borivali twin tunnel project, which was cancelled by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) in May, after Larsen & Toubro (L&T), which had been disqualified during the tendering process, moved the Supreme Court.
Leader of the Opposition in the legislative council, Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena MLC Ambadas Danve, Satej Patil of Congress, and Sharad Pawar-led NCP leader Jayant Patil were among those who took part in the protest and raised slogans.
“Despite serious concerns being raised about the project, the government continued to push it. This is not merely a technical lapse. It is a Rs 3,000-crore scam which the people of Maharashtra must not ignore,” Danve said.
Congress MLA Satej Patil alleged that Megha Engineering, which won the contract, was a buyer of electoral bonds. “This is not some coincidence. The government is rewarding the same company from which it received kickbacks. This raises fundamental questions about transparency and fairness,” Patil said.
Senior Sharad Pawar-led NCP leader Jayant Patil called for a reassessment of all agreements signed with Megha Engineering & Infrastructure Ltd, which he called “the government’s favourite contractor”.
The Opposition waved placards highlighting the disregard for farmers while favouring Megha Engineering. Danve pledged to continue addressing these governance matters in both Houses until suitable measures were implemented.
Danve said the Opposition would continue to raise the issue in both Houses until action was taken. “This is not about just one odd company. It’s about governance being compromised,” Danve said.
However, the assembly also witnessed lighter moments during question hour, when former minister and BJP MLA Sudhir Mungantiwar asked the government about the widening of drains in his constituency.
Mungantiwar asked, “Lack of proper planning of drains affects the settlements living near the drains. If the protective wall of the drains is not built as per the rules, will action be taken against those engineers if there is an obstruction in the water flow? Also, what is the government’s plan to repair such drains wherever they are? Will the government ensure that the natural width of drains remains the same?”
Replying to Mungantiwar’s question, Water Conservation Minister Sanjay Rathod simply said, “Suggestion for action,” which means that the government will consider it or listen to advice and then take action on it.
However, Mungantiwar expressed his displeasure about the minister’s style of replying to Speaker Rahul Narvekar and said, “Water Conservation Minister Sanjay Rathore is our friend. However, when I asked if the natural width of drains would remain the same or not, he only replied with a ‘suggestion for action’. What is expected from the minister is an assurance that the natural width of drains will be maintained. Without giving such an assurance, what does simply saying ‘suggestion for action’ mean? This is a double-meaning answer. Why are you giving Dada Kondke-style double-meaning answers?” Mungantiwar’s reference was to the late Marathi comedy film actor-director Dada Kondke, who was infamous for his double-meaning dialogues and who was featured in the Guinness Book of World Records for directing the largest number of hit films.
This led to Speaker Rahul Narvekar asking Water Conservation Minister Sanjay Rathod to give a proper answer to Mungantiwar’s question.
Finally, Water Conservation Minister Sanjay Rathod said, “We will survey such drains. We will check the width of the drains and examine if they need to be widened. We will conduct an inquiry under the supervision of the District Magistrate through the Land Records Department. We will send a proposal to the District Planning Committee regarding the construction of the remaining drains.”