“I have asked the water resources department officials to complete the war footing work. Adequate funds will be made available for water programs in 42 villages in Jat tehsil. In addition, efforts will be made to provide health and education facilities, along with We will provide state-of-the-art infrastructure for the entire area,” Shinde said at the meeting attended by elected representatives of Sangli and cabinet members from West Maharashtra. Shinde, however, chose not to comment on statements by Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai.
Despite the CM’s promises, Jat lawmaker Vikram Sawant said the hour-long meeting was a disappointment as there was no time-bound plan for the completion of the Mhaisala irrigation project. We’ve been waiting for water for the past 41 years. After today’s meeting, it looks like it will take at least seven to eight years to deliver water. Our suggestion is that while it will take a few years, in the meantime, the government should negotiate with Karnataka to supply the excess water from the Tubachi Babaleshwar project,” Sawant said.
He said Shinde has not made any specific commitments regarding budget support for the Mahaisala project.
In the meeting, Shinde assured that his government will immediately provide Rs 200 crore, while further arrangements will be made during the winter session of the state legislature in Nagpur. We like commitments and not a guarantee. We have suffered for centuries. We were expecting 2.26 lakh of land to be irrigated; so far only 22,500 hectares of land is irrigated,” Sawant said. Shinde has asked officials to coordinate so that all pending water supply schemes are completed in a limited period of time.
A Congress leader said Shinde took action after some panchayat samitis in Jat tehsil passed resolutions, saying that given the lack of basic facilities, their villages should be merged with Karnataka. Bommai had responded to this by meeting Jat villagers.
