MVA Govt to allot Rs. 23 Cr for conservation of Fort Shivneri Shivaji Maharaj’s birthplace

Pune: The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government will allot Rs. 23 crore for the preservation and development of Shivneri Fort, the birthplace of Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, said Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar on Wednesday.

Speaking at Shivneri Fort in Pune’s Junnar tehsil on occasion of Chhatrapati Shivaji’s 390th birth anniversary, Pawar said: “At present, three departments namely the Forest, the Archaeology and the Public Works Department (PWD) are in urgent need of funds amounting to Rs. 23 crore for the conservation works of Shivneri Fort.” Pawar, also the Guardian Minister of Pune district, informed that he would clear the funds at a meeting today evening itself.

Pawar further said “when Uddhav Thackeray assumed responsibility as Chief Minister, his first decision following the swearing-in was to allot Rs. 20 crore for the preservation of Raigad Fort (Shivaji Maharaj’s capital). The objective of our government is to preserve historical forts by maintaining a heritage touch so as to keep it as it was during Chhatrapati Shivaji’s times”.

Earlier, Chief Minister Thackeray, along with Pawar and other ministers in the State cabinet including Chhagan Bhujbal as well as local legislators were present at Shivneri Fort to witness the 390^th anniversary celebrations of the legendary Maratha warrior-king, who is said to be born here at Fort Shivneri in 1630 C.E.

Thackeray witnessed a number of events including the ‘cradle ceremony’ while reviewing the progress of development works at the fort. Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said that there was a palpable sense among the public of Maharashtra that “a true people’s government has come to power in the State in the form of the MVA government”.

He further said that Ajit Pawar (and the NCP) ought to have allied with the Sena much earlier for the benefit of the State. “Ajitdada and me (Sena) simply remained apart all these years when we ought to have united much earlier. However, now that we are together, I promise the people of the State that we (MVA coalition of Sena-Congress-NCP) will not rest until we have developed Maharashtra,” Thackeray said.

In a veiled jibe aimed at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, Pawar said: “today it is unique as there is a visible feeling that a true government of the people has come to power in Maharashtra…This is the first time I am witnessing such enthusiasm, especially from the youth on the occasion of ‘Shiv Jayanti’”.

Ajit Pawar argued that there was no difference of opinion in the MVA coordination committee. He further stated that the representatives of all three parties are carefully weighing every problem…We are addressing issues and taking decisions with a view to maintain peace and communal harmony in the State”.

He also refuted suggestion of differences of opinion existing between the Sena, the NCP and the Congress over the Elgaar Parishad probe. “There are two separate questions here: one Elgaar Parishad and the second, the Bhima- Koregaon clashes…the State Home Minister Anil Deshmukh has already given his views, while the Chief Minister has spoken on the Bhima-Koregaon case in Sindhudurg on Tuesday and NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, too, has spelled out his stance…So, I don’t think there is any further reason to believe that we (MVA) are divided on this issue,” he added further.

The Chief Minister on Tuesday had said that while the Central government had taken over the probe into the Elgaar Parishad case from the Maharashtra government and turned it over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), he never permit the probe into the Bhima-Koregaon clashes to be handed over to the Centre.