Maharashtra hikes legislators’ local development fund by Rs 1 crore

Opposition MLAs protest over farmer issues at Vidhan Bhavan during the Budget Session, on Wednesday. Pic/Suresh Karkera

The annual Local Area Development Fund for legislators has been increased by Rs 1 crore for the third financial year in a row. The hiked fund will be Rs 5 crore, announced the deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar in the Assembly on Wednesday, amid applause from both sides.

The monthly salary of the drivers and personal assistants of the legislators have been increased by Rs 5,000. The driver will get a revised pay of Rs 20,000 and the PA, Rs 30,000. He was replying to the debate on the budget. The members of the Legislative Assembly and Council get the fund for the development work. However, despite the hike in the last two years, they could spend the fund partially because of the pandemic.

Pawar said, "The Centre thought twice before giving MPs Rs 5 crore in the development fund, but the Uddhav Thackeray-led government has decided to give each legislator Rs 5 cr." Welcoming the announcement, some MLAs asked Pawar to give vehicles to the members. To this, Pawar asked the MLAs to wait for the electric vehicles (EVs). "Let's see what it costs…," he said, even as the climate change minister and proponent of EVs, Aaditya Thackeray, had a glad dialogue with the said MLA.

‘Pak link in E-bus supply'

BJP legislator Ashish Shelar has alleged that a company funded by a Pakistani fraudster has been given the contract to supply electric buses to the city's public transport undertaking BEST. He said the CEO of the company was declared a fraudster and fugitive in European Union, Malta and Canada.

Shelar said the number of buses to be procured was increased from 200 to 1,400 without testing the vehicles on the city road. He said a R2,800-crore agreement was signed last year in the presence of the environment and climate change minister Aaditya Thackeray and industry minister Subhash Desai.

The BJP legislator asked Thackeray to scrap the agreement before it was too late. He said the Panama Papers revealed that two persons from Pakistan - one working as an arms dealer in Libya and the other working from Dubai - had invested in the E-bus company. Responding to the debate, minister Thackeray assured to examine the findings presented by Shelar and take appropriate action.

Let Centre do it

Responding to the BJP's demand for waiving the state tax on the movie The Kashmir Files, Pawar said it would be great if the Centre extended the concession from Delhi. "The BJP has made a demand for making this movie tax-free. But the Centre should do it to make it tax-free nationwide," he said, inviting the opposition's walk-out in protest.