<p>Amid repeated attacks by BJP, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra on Wednesday turned the table and launched a probe vis-à-vis the Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyan, the flagship scheme of former Chief Minister and now Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis.</p>.<p>In fact, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) in its report has raised questions over the way the project was executed in the state.</p>.<p>“….despite spending Rs 9633.75 crore, the Abhiyan (mission) had little impact in achieving water neutrality and increasing groundwater level,” according to the report that was tabled during the two-day Monsoon Session of Maharashtra legislature in September.</p>.<p>On Wednesday, at the weekly Cabinet meeting, there was a unanimous view that the JSA needs to be probed, and the three MVA allies – Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress agreed on it.</p>.<p>The probe could be an open inquiry through a Special Investigation Team (SIT).“There is no politics in it…there is a CAG report and this needs to be probed,” state Water Resources Minister Jayant Patil said.</p>.<p>Soil and Water Conservation Minister Shankarrao Gadakh said that there were irregularities in the implementation of the scheme and hence the probe is necessary.</p>.<p>“The details of how it has to be probed would be worked out in next couple of days…There were complaints and litigations with respect to JSA …we are still receiving complaints,” he said.</p>.<p>The project involved deepening and widening of streams, construction of cement and earthen stop dams, undertaking work on nullahs and digging of farm ponds to make 25,000 villages drought-free between 2014-19 when the erstwhile Shiv Sena-BJP government was in power.</p>
<p>Amid repeated attacks by BJP, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra on Wednesday turned the table and launched a probe vis-à-vis the Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyan, the flagship scheme of former Chief Minister and now Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis.</p>.<p>In fact, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) in its report has raised questions over the way the project was executed in the state.</p>.<p>“….despite spending Rs 9633.75 crore, the Abhiyan (mission) had little impact in achieving water neutrality and increasing groundwater level,” according to the report that was tabled during the two-day Monsoon Session of Maharashtra legislature in September.</p>.<p>On Wednesday, at the weekly Cabinet meeting, there was a unanimous view that the JSA needs to be probed, and the three MVA allies – Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress agreed on it.</p>.<p>The probe could be an open inquiry through a Special Investigation Team (SIT).“There is no politics in it…there is a CAG report and this needs to be probed,” state Water Resources Minister Jayant Patil said.</p>.<p>Soil and Water Conservation Minister Shankarrao Gadakh said that there were irregularities in the implementation of the scheme and hence the probe is necessary.</p>.<p>“The details of how it has to be probed would be worked out in next couple of days…There were complaints and litigations with respect to JSA …we are still receiving complaints,” he said.</p>.<p>The project involved deepening and widening of streams, construction of cement and earthen stop dams, undertaking work on nullahs and digging of farm ponds to make 25,000 villages drought-free between 2014-19 when the erstwhile Shiv Sena-BJP government was in power.</p>
