Irai river cleaning campaign stopped due to lack of funds
Former MP and Congress leader Naresh Puglia has also alleged that guardian minister Vijay Wadettiwar had started the campaign to clean up the Irai river "with much fanfare and show".
Chandrapur: Due to the acute shortage of funds by the Irrigation Department, the work of deepening and cleaning the Irai river, which was started with great fanfare, has now been stopped completely. And after cleaning barely about 100 feet of the river, the department has also had to give up the work.
Former MP and Congress leader Naresh Puglia has also alleged that guardian minister Vijay Wadettiwar had started the campaign to clean up the Irai river “with much fanfare and show”. And the order was given to complete the work even before the onset of this monsoon. He said that only about Rs 2 lakh had been provisioned for the work, due to which they have come to a standstill within a week of the grand cleanliness drive.
Naresh Puglia said, all the machinery and vehicles stationed at the bottom of the river will be lying idle due to the non-availability of diesel, as there is no money at all to get the work done.
Officers were instructed to make arrangements for diesel from the funds
The former MP has said that after the visit of Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray in the month of February, A provision of about Rs 5 crore had been made in the mining royalty fund of the city for cleaning the Ramala lake. And along with this, during this visit, Aditya Thackeray also made a lot of mention of the need to clean the dying Irai river. It was also planned that about a 7 km long stretch of river from Padoli bridge to Chorala bridge would be cleaned thoroughly.
Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar had also held a meeting with Wadettiwar regarding the depth, conservation, and beautification of the Irai river. And Pawar had also given full assurance of arranging the necessary machinery through Vidarbha Region Irrigation Corporation. And the officers were also instructed to make arrangements for the much-needed diesel from the funds of the district planning committee.
Naresh Puglia has also claimed that only Rs 2 lakh is being allocated from the mining royalty fund. Which gets hundreds of crores every year. “Bhimjak of the highest revenue-generating district of Maharashtra”. Along with this, he has also termed it the ‘incompetence’ of the guardian minister. The Congress leader has also called upon Wadettiwar to be very clear on the same issue and allocate the much-needed funds for cleaning the Irai river and completing the depth.
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