Chandrakant Patil: Previous Congress-NCP government responsible for floods in Sangli and Kolhapur

BJP state president Chandrakant Patil blamed the erstwhile Congress-NCP government for the floods in Sangli and Kolhapur. He alleged that they had increased the height of the Almatti dam which along with other reasons proved to be the cause of the floods.

While speaking about the allegations that the flood lines were changed by the orders of Chief Minister, he claimed that the decision was under consideration since there was a need for development.

However, it would now be decided after taking the current floods into consideration.

Patil, who is also the Guardian Minister for Pune, visited Pune Municipal Corporation to review the party's various ambitious projects. The meeting — addressed by the PMC Commissioner and Additional Commissioner in the presence of the mayor and office bearers — took almost two hours with the leader carefully gauging each project. While the meeting was his first official visit for reviewing the projects, the party leaders also turned it into a chance to give him the tour of the new building under the pretext of inaugurating various offices. While it has been a year and a half since the formal inauguration of the office was held, many offices, including the main party office, were finally inaugurated on Friday by Patil.

After the meeting was over, Patil told the media, “I am taking information about various projects after becoming the guardian minister. I had visited the corporation once for a programme. However there was a need to resolve and coordinate on various issues. I was given review of two projects. One was HCMTR and the other was 24x7 water supply project. Considering the expansion of the city there is a need to expand the water supply system and revise it. We are currently using 50 per cent sewage water. If that gets used completely, then we will be able to reduce the water supply for agriculture use. There were issues related to the state government, like possession of land. We are trying to resolve them. Also HCMTR will help in solving the traffic issues. Some proposals need to be sent to the cabinet immediately.”

When quizzed about the allegation of corruption, Patil said “We will inquire about the corruption charges. We will not let projects with higher cost implemented here.”

Commissioner Saurabh Rao announced that the retendering process for JICA tender is likely to begin soon. He said, “JICA tender is high. But the bidder quotes as per market situation. They cannot be guided by us on what amount to quote. However, we can cancel the process if the cost is high. CM has taken cognisance and we have immediately informed the officers. We have sought the permission for retendering in the process.”

Flood lines

When quizzed about the allegations by environmentalists of the revision in flood lines in Sangli and Kolhapur, Patil said, “We have not changed the flood lines in Kolhapur. The flood lines were decided as per the 2005 floods. We aren’t ruling there in Kolhapur. This was taken into consideration when there was a proposal to develop 2,500 acres of land. But since there were floods damaging the area we will have to rethink about the decision. But not developing the area isn’t going to work. Maximum dams in the country are in Maharashtra. Maximum dams in the state are in Sangli and Kolhapur. The officers decide based on the situation there. What to do regarding the demand of revisiting will be decided later based on the study.”

Referring to the controversy over Almatti dam, Patil chose to blame the opposition parties for the situation. He said, “The decision to increase the height of Almatti dam was taken during the previous government's tenure. They were ruling in Centre and both the states. So they are responsible for the consequences. We had no role to play.”