Narayan Rane accuses Uddhav Thackeray of being hand in glove with builders over Mumbai's DP

Senior Congress leader Narayan Rane today accused Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray of being hand in glove with builders over the controversial draft Development Plan (DP) for Mumbai.

Talking to reporters here, Rane also said Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had made a false announcement that the DP had been scrapped when the Government Resolution (GR) just mentions that the DP will be completely revised in four months.

"In fact, development plan is the prerogative of the local civic body and the state government comes into picture only for the final clearance after it is prepared and suggestions and objections are received," he said.

Rane said Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar's demand seeking action against those involved in sanctioning the draft DP and its preparation shows that the Sena-BJP tug-of-war had come out in the open.

"Uddhav Thackeray must not be aware of the full form of the DP, but only about the economics involved in it. He is hand in glove with builders," Rane alleged.

The Congress leader alleged that Thackeray's PA Milind Narvekar had been making calls to builders offering to make changes in the draft DP to suit their interests. "Reservations of non-development zones are changed only if there are financial transactions," Rane claimed.

When asked about MIM making inroads into Aurangabad Municipal Corporation and winning 25 seats during the polls held recently, Rane said, "Navi Mumbai voters have rejected the BJP. It is a fact that MIM has won 25 seats in Aurangabad as Muslims feel disillusioned with the Congress and feel that the MIM can do good for them. However, their hopes will soon vanish in thin air and the community will be back with the Congress."

Rane also hit out at Fadnavis stating that if he is still a proponent of separate Vidarbha, he should not unfurl the tricolour at the 55th anniversary of the foundation of Maharashtra state on May 1. 

Earlier, Rane who was defeated in the Bandra East Assembly bypoll, addressed Congress corporators as part of preparations for the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls.

Mumbai Congress President Sanjay Nirupam condemned former BMC Commissioner Sitaram Kunte's statement that there were few errors in the DP that could be corrected.

"The DP was full of errors, which would take Mumbai on the road to destruction. Transferring Kunte is not enough, he is also responsible for the DP and probe should be ordered against him," Nirupam demanded.

Nirupam said the party unit in Mumbai plans to expose the Shiv Sena ahead of the Mumbai civic polls slated for early 2017. "We have set up committees to study the Shiv Sena manifesto related to roads, water, education, health, solid waste management and the party's failure to improve public utilities in Mumbai," he said.

Nirupam said Shiv Sena has been winning Aurangabad municipal corporation polls since 1988. "That civic body is the most corrupt and the bankrupt municipal corporation which doesn't have money to pay its electricity bills," he said.

"Sena wins because Congress is not working enough to expose its misdeeds. We have to pull up our socks and we will expose the Sena in the next one and half years," he added.

Nirupam said Congress corporators will be visiting offices of public utilities every week and compiling data regarding their performance.

"About 9,500 metric tonnes of solid waste is generated in Mumbai every day, but the city has a capacity to dispose only 6,000 metric tonnes. About 2,000 metric tonnes of waste is not taken away at all. This is the situation in a civic body, whose budget is Rs 34,000 crore," he added.