Smart city project to separate Mumbai from Maharashtra, fears Shiv Sena

The Shiv Sena is seeing a ploy in the Smart Cities project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and feels that it will delink Mumbai from the rest of Maharashtra. “Under the guise of Smart Cities, a Special Purpose Vehicle Board modelled on a corporate entity is being created to manage Mumbai’s development. Maharashtra’s capital will be turned into a centrally governed colony. It is an attempt to foist a new form of underworld in the form of a parallel government on Mumbai,” alleged an editorial in the party mouthpiece Saamana.

The Prime Minister had announced his vision to set up 100 smart cities across the country, soon after his government was sworn in. The project envisages smart solutions for efficient use of assets, resources and infrastructure. Some of the cities from Maharashtra selected for development as smart cities include Mumbai, Thane, Kalyan-Dombivali, Pune, Nashik, Amravati, Solapur, Nashik, Nagpur and Aurangabad. “If someone is conspiring to turn Mumbai into a centrally governed territory then they should go and have a look at the sword Shivaji Maharaj’s statue wields in Shivaji Park. They should have a look at Aurangazeb’s mausoleum and make rounds of the memorial of the 105 martyrs of the Samyukta Maharashtra movement. They will get a sense of what we are talking about,” the editorial added.

The separation of Mumbai from Maharashtra is a political hot potato with parties such as the Shiv Sena claiming that there is a conspiracy for the last three decades to separate Mumbai from Maharashtra. The Sena alleged that the Smart Cities project was for capitalists, traders and builders and against native Maharashtrians.

“We cannot let Mumbai become a servant of multi-national companies in the name of Smart Cities and let them decide development and taxes. Today power is snatched from people and cities are going in the hands of the rich,” the editorial said. The Sena’s decision to speak out against the project comes amid relations worsening between the Sena and the BJP.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, which the Sena has controlled for over 25 years, will see the next elections in 2017. MNS President Raj Thackeray had last week termed the project as obstructionist arguing it would stop municipal corporations from carrying out their work. On Monday, he came out in support of the project after deliberations with CM Devendra Fadnavis.