Migrants fine but they can’t misuse amenities: Deshmukh

In the midst of the migrants’ issue being raked up by certain political parties in Maharashtra, Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh has said people from across the country are welcome to live in Mumbai, but should not construct illegal encroachments which deprive citizens of public amenities. “We cannot stop migrants from coming to the state, but anti-encroachment restrictions should be imposed upon them,” he said.

Deshmukh asked civic authorities to take strict measures against illegally constructed structures. “Migrants cannot misuse the city’s infrastructure, which is meant for the taxpayers,” he added.

The Chief Minister said the Maharashtra Government was trying to solve the problem of migration and the subsequent congestion caused by it. He was speaking at the inaugural function for the widening of the Subhash Nagar, Wadwali and Somaiya nullahs and the micro tunnelling of the sewage network at Chembur under the Brihanmumbai Storm Water Drainage project on Sunday.

Leader of the Opposition and Shiv Sena leader Ramdas Kadam said the city did not have the capacity to absorb any more waves of migrants. It was necessary for the BMC to pay attention to the issue, he said.