Mumbai: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde stirred the political waters in the state Assembly with a bold promise to make Mumbai pothole-free for the next 25 years, while launching scathing attacks on opposition leaders Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray.
Speaking during a debate under Rule 293, which allows discussion on public issues, Shinde declared an ambitious plan to concrete all of Mumbai’s roads by December 2027 in two phases. He outlined that this transformation would eliminate the city’s notorious pothole problem for the next quarter-century, positioning it as a cornerstone of his government’s civic agenda.
Without directly naming them, Shinde took veiled digs at Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, accusing the previous administration of prioritising contractors over public welfare. His remarks, which drew reactions from both benches, contrasted his “Mumbai First” approach with what he suggested was a “Contractor First” attitude of the former leadership.
He also took aim at Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray, slamming the reemergence of the demand for Mumbai’s separation from Maharashtra — a topic often raised around election time. Shinde dismissed such moves as politically motivated and aimed at sowing division for electoral gains.
Defending the current government’s vision, Shinde highlighted infrastructure mega-projects like Atal Setu, the Coastal Road, and the expanding Metro network as efforts to strengthen Mumbai’s connectivity and unity. “This is not the time for slogans and separation — it’s the time for construction and integration,” he stated.
Recalling his earlier tenure in the previous government, Shinde said he and Devendra Fadnavis had called out the BMC’s inefficiency on roadwork, specifically confronting civic chief Iqbal Singh Chahal on the slow pace of road concretisation. That intervention, he claimed, led to the blueprint for the present city-wide concretisation drive.
