Fadnavis endorses Pawar’s advice to borrow loan to provide relief to flood affected farmers

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Mumbai: Even though at times Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) patriarch, Sharad Pawar may have chided Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday endorsed the suggestion of the NCP chief to borrow a loan to tackle the agrarian crisis resulting out of the torrential rains last week in parts of Marathwada and western Maharashtra.

Fadnavis while endorsing the NCP chiefs advice to the State Government to borrow a loan, said, there is nothing “sinful” in it, as loans have to be borrowed to tackle such a crisis. He said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has increased the borrowing limit of Maharashtra to borrow a loan to the tune of Rs 1,20,000 crore this year.

When the state has to borrow a loan, it should not be misinterpreted that the state is in some kind of debt, he underlined.

“This year the state has borrowed a loan of Rs 60,000 crore rupees and still there is a scope to borrow more,” he said addressing a press conference in Tuljapur after reviewing the flood situation in Osmanabad in Marathwada.  

He, however, launched a scathing attack against Pawar for seeking help from the Central Government. Expressing confidence that Centre would “definitely” extend help, Fadnavis said, in the beginning, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and assured that Centre will provide whatever support the state needs.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi is sensitive to the issue of the woes of farmers and therefore the Centre will provide aid to the flood-affected farmers’,” he added.

Also Read: What is Maha govt doing to help rain-hit farmers? BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis

Several hectares of crops have been washed away after the torrential rains wreaked havoc in parts of Marathwada and western Maharashtra. The intensity of the damage is so much so that there have been reports of soil erosion.

The senior BJP leader said that instead of tossing the ball into the Centre’s court, Fadnavis said the State should first extend some relief to the farmers on an urgent basis.

He said where the panchnama of a particular place is not possible there even a photo taken from mobile phones should be considered as valid.

“Instead of remaining dependent on the Centre, the state government should spend from the state disaster relief fund to provide immediate relief,” he suggested.

Taking a jibe at the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, Fadnavis sarcastically remarked that he was surprised to see the cohesiveness of the three coalition parties in the Government when they have to shirk responsibility to the Centre.

“Surprisingly, there are internal differences between the three parties. But when they have to shirk responsibility they speak in unison,” Fadnavis said.

The state government should complete the panchnama immediately. Where panchnama is not possible there even a photograph taken on a mobile phone should be considered valid, he stressed.