Maharashtra has done remarkable work in last two years: Governor

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Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Wednesday said the state had done remarkable work in over the last two years, as he mentioned a leadership award won by the state which was given at the UN Climate Change Conference and the Electric Vehicles (EV) policy in his speech to mark the 73rd Republic Day.

The work done by Maharashtra in the last two-and-a-half years is remarkable, said the governor, who shares stormy relations with the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) dispensation. The governor had also indulged in letter wars on various issues with Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in the past.

He spoke about the Inspiring Regional Leadership award bagged by Maharashtra in Scotland a few months back and was given at the United Nations Climate Change Conference.

We have the target of completing the electrification of public transport. BEST electric buses are already pressed into service in Mumbai,” the governor said.

He said the state had announced various incentives for the people shifting towards electric vehicles.

The Supreme Court has hailed the Mumbai model for successful planning to combat against the coronavirus pandemic. The NITI Aayog and the WHO have also appreciated the efforts taken by Maharashtra on this front, he said.

We did not let our economy collapse or come to a standstill in the last two years (during the pandemic), said the governor.

He said the Maharashtra government had granted a loan waiver of Rs 20,234 crore to 32 lakh farmers in the state.

While highlighting the industrial growth, the governor said, In the last two years, 96 memoranda of understanding worth Rs 1.88 lakh crore had been signed. Between October 2019 to March 21, FDI to the tune of Rs 1.71 lakh crore has been made.

The hospitality sector is now recognised as an industry by the state with facilities (being given) in terms of tax concessions, he said.

“We are planning to make Mumbai a global-level tourist city, and as part of this an international tourism complex on 14 acres of land will come up in Worli with an investment of Rs 1,000 crore,” he said.

Notably, Worli is the Assembly constituency of Shiv Sena MLA and state environment minister Aaditya Thackeray.

The governor also underlined the newly-launched initiatives like the WhatsApp Chatbot facility of the Mumbai civic corporation and the “e-peek Pahani” in the agriculture sector for farmers to register their crops using the mobile application.

Interestingly, some of the top mentions in the speech of the governor were related to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), currently ruled by Shiv Sena, and the state Environment Ministry, which is headed by Aaditya Thackeray.

The BMC elections are slated to be held in the next few months.