‘Mumbai North-East safe bet for BJP this time’

Residents of Mulund and Bhandup are facing a problem about houses on forest land,an area of major concern for them. You made a petition,yet there has been no resolution.
The Supreme Court-appointed committee to look into the forest land issue has accepted my petition. We are recommending that the residents who have been living in the area for over 55 years be given relief in one stroke,with minimum punishment. The state government went ahead with an affidavit that objected to the petition. Once voted to power,it will be my endevour to resolve the issue within a few weeks.

You took keen interest in the relief and rehabilitation of terror victims,be it the July 6 or November 8 attacks. Are you satisfied with the way the aftermath of terror is dealt with in our state?
There are two angles about terror that we need to think about. I think relief and rehabilitation should reach victims at the earliest,much of it is happening. I want to make it part of an Act over disaster management,that relief and rehabilitation should be completed in three months.

Also,I have seen that of the 24 terror attacks in the last 36 months,all are under investigation or judicial process. Not one has been completed. This is because of a lack of political will. There is a need to provide for political will in tackling terror.

There is a fear that with a five-metre tide warning this July,there might be a repeat of the deluge. Despite your interest and followup,work on the Mithi has not been completed and the city is not better than last time.
Due to our efforts,93 per cent of the first phase of the Mithi river work — that involves desilting and removal of encroachments — has been completed. The Centre has not sent the funds for the second phase because of a lack of coordination between the state and Central governments. The Congress-NCP governments should have ensured money for the Mithi work.

Because of the first-phase work,I think we should be able to tackle about 25 per cent more rainfall. Had the second phase been completed,we could have even dealt with 100 per cent more rainfall.

What are your other plans for Mumbai?
I will personally look into getting infrastructure funds for Mumbai as well as the money planned for making Mumbai into an international finance centre.