Pune: Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday accused the Opposition of allegedly pursuing a “well-planned strategy” to defame Sanatan Dharma by making baseless corruption allegations over projects being undertaken for next year’s Kumbh Mela in Nashik.
“Similar attempts were made to defame Sanatan Dharma after the theft incident at the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. Former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan recently alleged corruption in the awarding of contracts for Kumbh-related works and claimed the tenders were not finalised transparently. “The details of all tenders that have been finalised are in the public domain. The bids are being finalised transparently.
Some had even alleged that donations worth ₹ 1,800 crore were stolen from the temple,” Fadnavis said. In fact, for some projects, such as the Ghoti-Trimbakeshwar road, the bids were finalised 36% below the amount earmarked for the project,” Fadnavis said.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut had made similar allegations last year.
The state government is implementing infrastructure projects worth more than ₹ 34,000 crore in Nashik city and Trimbakeshwar, the two venues for the Kumbh Mela.
But once the projects are completed, Nashik will have a strong infrastructure base for the next 50 years,” he said. Residents of Nashik and Trimbakeshwar are facing problems due to the ongoing works. “All efforts are being made by the authorities to complete the projects as soon as possible. “There is an imperative need to bring farmers out of the vicious cycle of debt, and we will have to build a system based on new technology.
Agricultural colleges should play an important role in reducing production costs and increasing productivity in the agriculture sector,” he said. At the SPPU event, Fadnavis said universities should go beyond producing graduates and create incubation ecosystems to help turn students’ innovative ideas into industries and startups.
