Maharashtra to top country in conviction rate: Devendra Fadnavis

Mumbai, Oct 31: Maharashtra has registered a phenomenal increase in crime conviction rate after BJP-led government came to power and the state is likely to emerge as India's leader on this front next year, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said.

Fadnavis, whose government completed one year in office today, said Maharashtra now figures among the first five states as far as conviction rate is concerned, a dramatic improvement from its ranking in "last two-three states" during the previous Congress-led regime.

"In six months all police stations in Maharashtra have been connected online", the Chief minister who also holds home portfolio, said during an interaction at his official residence in south Mumbai.

"Now FIRs can be registered online and crimes records in 1.5 crore cases are available at a click," Fadnavis said.

Of the 6000 CCTVs planned to be installed in Mumbai 1200 have been installed and next year all of Mumbai will be covered by the CCTV network, the CM said. On regular media focus of crimes in his hometown Nagpur in Vidarbha region, Fadnavis said "Nagpur is being defamed as the crime capital as I hail from that city."

Asked if the public perception about his government has changed in the last one year, Fadnavis said, "it's still positive and hasn't become very negative as some are trying to project."

The acute drought in Maharashtra has left farmers disappointed as this is the third time in a row that rains have eluded most parts of the state, he said.

On rising cases of farmers suicides, Fadnavis said,"it's not as if the suicides didn't happen during the Congress led regime."

The ambitious Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyan for water conservation is beginning to show results, Fadnavis said. He termed this campaign as 'path breaking' and as one of the three most important things the BJP led government undertook in the last one year in office.

Fadnavis said the work on Ambedkar memorial at Indu Mill land in Mumbai and undertaking the Mumbai-Nagpur Expressway were the other ambitious projects of his government.

PTI