No central team yet in Maharashtra to assess flood losses: Ajit Pawar

PUNE: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Wednesday said despite sending multiple correspondences to the central government, no team from there has arrived in the state to assess losses caused due to floods following heavy rains in the past few months.
The Centre should provide help to the states during natural calamities without thinking about party and ideology, Pawar told reporters after paying tributes to Maharashtra's first CM Yashwantrao Chavan on his death anniversary at Pritisangam at Karad in Satara district.

"When the state faced floods caused due to heavy rains, the chief minister, rehabilitation minister and chief secretary wrote to the Centre. However, till date, no team from the Centre has come (to assess losses)," he said.

Pawar said during the previous (Congress-led) Manmohan Singh government, if such a calamity happened, a team used to come immediately to inspect the losses and then package was announced.

"Today, after so many days, the central team has not turned up...states should get help from the Centre, considering that all the states are part of India," he said.

Pawar said if there is any natural calamity, the Centre should not differentiate on the basis of a party or ideology, "but it is not happening".

"The issue was once again raised during the state cabinet meeting and the chief secretary has been asked to follow up on the same," he added.

Pawar also said the state was yet to get a GST compensation worth Rs 29,000 crore from the Centre.

When asked about the opposition BJP making statements that the state's Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, comprising the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress, may fall soon, Pawar said such "carrots" are usually shown to keep the party workers and leaders intact.

The MVA was formed by (NCP president) Sharad Pawar, (Shiv Sena chief) Uddhav Thackeray and (Congress head) Sonia Gandhi and till they are standing strong behind the alliance, nothing will happen to this alliance, he asserted.

"The real pain of the opposition party is that despite having 105 MLAs, they have not got the opportunity to work in the government and that is why such statements are being made," he added.

Notably, senior BJP leader and Union minister Raosaheb Danve on Monday said his party will form a government in Maharashtra in the next two to thee months for which it has made preparations.

Asked about the issue of outstanding power bills in the state, Pawar said currently electricity bills worth Rs 60,000 crore are outstanding.

"Due to some decisions taken by the previous BJP government, the MSEDCL plunged into crisis," he alleged.