CM orders white paper on MMRDA

Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said on Friday he had ordered preparation of a white paper on MMRDA within 30 days,so that even people in rural areas know its work.

NCP ministers had raised the issue in the state Cabinet last week after a bridge collapse at a metro site in Andheri killed a worker and injured 16,making it the eighth accident of the project.

Chavan,however,denied the decision to prepare the white paper was taken under pressure from R R Patil and other NCP ministers.

Minister for Rural Development Jayant Patil,who is also the Guardian Minister for Mumbai,had said several crores of rupees had been spent on projects such as BRIMSTOWAD to prevent water-logging in the city. But even short spells of rain caused flooding in many areas. He questioned the spend of and work done by MMRDA.

MMRDA has done good work to improve infrastructure in Mumbai. A white paper is not an acceptance of wrongdoings but a presentation of facts, CM said. With allegations of overspending on irrigation projects and a CAG report to back it,Chavan had promised the white paper on the department headed by NCP. He said a committee had been appointed to investigate the safety aspect of metro.

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