Rane rushes to Raj bhawan, demands funds for Konkan

Mumbai, Sep 29 (UNI) Maharashtra Revenue Minister Narayan Rane today met Governor S C Jamir and demanded more funds for irrigation projects in the Konkan region.

Mr Rane's surprise visit to Raj bhawan, especially in the absence of chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, who is on an official tour of Europe, surprised many in political circles.

Talking to UNI, Mr Rane said he has submitted a memorandum to the Governor, demanding revival of funds for Konkan, which were cut down reportedly on his orders.

He has also stated in the memorandum that Konkan region is lagging behind in the irrigation sector than the State average.

The reason given for the cut was that in the year 2003-04 excess funds were spent in 11 districts of Rest of Maharashtra Statutory development Board areas, wherein western Maharashtra and Konkan were covered. As per the principle of equal spending in all the development board areas, the Governor applied a cut in the funds of Rest of Maharashtra board area for a period of three years from 2007-08 to 2009-10.

Mr Rane argued that as no excess funds were spent in Konkan area in the year 2003-04, the cut should not be applied to the Konkan region. He said the Governor heard him sympathetically.

UNI XR SR NP SB VC2040