Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Friday criticised the Maharashtra government for allocating Rs 86,000 crore to contractors for the construction of the Shaktipeeth Expressway, while reportedly failing to provide relief to farmers affected by heavy rains, reported the PTI.
Uddhav Thackeray has been touring Marathwada since November 5, meeting farmers whose crops were destroyed by severe rainfall in the last week of September.
On Friday, Uddhav visited Pardi village in Nanded, Dongarkada and Jawla Bazar in Hingoli, as well as Pingali in Parbhani, to check whether the financial aid and relief measures announced by the Fadnavis-led government had reached them.
Speaking in Hingoli, Uddhav Thackeray said, “The state government has Rs 86,000 crore to give contractors to build the Shaktipeeth Expressway, yet there is no money for distressed farmers. There is no immediate need for this expressway. But when I point this out, the ruling party claims I am opposing development,” according to the PTI.
He further criticised the project, claiming middlemen were purchasing land along the expressway route and selling it at higher prices.
“Similarly, middlemen benefited from soybean purchases. They will sell it later to official procurement centres at a profit, while farmers get nothing,” he said, the news agency reported.
Responding to Chief Minister Fadnavis’ remark that he merely taunts, Uddhav Thackeray said, “Speaking up for farmers and seeking justice is not taunting; it is a duty.”
Thackeray urged the CM, guardian ministers, and MLAs to visit villages and check on compensation distribution, adding, “The government must ensure relief reaches farmers, but the ruling party seems unconcerned about these issues.”
Meanwhile, Uddhav Thackeray had on Thursday targeted the Maharashtra government over the farm loan waiver issue, alleging that distressed farmers were yet to receive any financial aid despite the government’s claim of announcing the “biggest” relief package, reported the PTI.
Uddhav Thackeray interacted with farmers at Karajkheda village in Dharashiv district on the second day of his four-day tour of the Marathwada region, aimed at assessing the hardships faced by cultivators following the heavy rains and floods during monsoon season.
He is scheduled to visit Bhusni and Thorlewadi villages in Latur and Pardi in Nanded later in the day.
Last month, the Devendra Fadnavis-led government announced a Rs 31,628-crore relief package for farmers whose crops were damaged across 68.7 lakh hectares in 29 districts during the August–September deluge. The Chief Minister had described it as an “unprecedented effort” by the state to stand by farmers in their time of crisis.
However, Uddhav Thackeray claimed that no assistance had yet reached the intended beneficiaries.
“Earlier, the ruling parties asked women about the benefits of the Ladki Bahin scheme. Why aren’t they asking farmers what they’ve received from this so-called biggest relief package?” he questioned, according to the PTI.
“They are not asking because nothing has been delivered. The package was merely announced. I’ll be the happiest man if farmers actually get their compensation,” he added.
Thackeray also played an old audio clip purportedly featuring Fadnavis promising a loan waiver if the Mahayuti alliance came to power.
Responding to criticism from ruling leaders that he was being sarcastic, Thackeray said, “Is demanding a loan waiver and Rs 50,000 per hectare in compensation for farmers a taunt? When my government was in power, we implemented a loan waiver without boasting about it,” the news agency reported.
(with PTI inputs)