Mumbai, March 16 Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Vijay Wadettiwar said on Monday that the Maharashtra government has been favoring legislators from the ruling parties by allocating funds to them while ignoring opposition MLAs.
Participating in the discussion on budgetary demands in the legislative assembly, Wadettiwar said that funds for road works have only been disbursed to constituencies represented by MLAs of ruling parties (BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP).
"The Mahayuti government is discriminating against Opposition MLAs. Roads are being improved in constituencies of ruling MLAs. Beyond these areas, the roads are in poor condition. People are forced to suffer because of this approach. Is this the 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas'?" he asked.
The Congress leader alleged that the road infrastructure in Maharashtra has deteriorated, and contractors are not yet being paid.
He claimed that outstanding bills amount to about Rs 62,000 crore, and contractors have warned of halting work from April 6 if the dues are not cleared.
Wadettiwar claimed a Rs 250-crore "QR code scam" in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, wherein contractors siphoned off large sums of money without carrying out actual work by misusing QR codes.
He questioned whether the concerned ministers were aware of the alleged irregularities.
The Congress leader further alleged that funds from the tribal development department were diverted to implement the Ladki Bahin Yojana for women.
According to Wadettiwar, out of the Rs 4,349 crore earmarked for social security and welfare under the tribal development department, Rs 3,416 crore has been shifted to the scheme.
"Tribal students do not receive funds for uniforms throughout the year, and orders are placed only at the end of March. It is like conducting a wedding and delivering the groom's attire later," he remarked.
Under the flagship scheme, Rs 1,500 is distributed per month to eligible women from financially weaker sections.
The Congress leader also alleged a political vendetta in action against educational institutions. He claimed that action was taken against a career development academy after the institution allegedly campaigned against the daughter of a tribal minister in local body elections.
Wadettiwar said such actions were harming students and questioned whether democracy was functioning properly in the state.
He also demanded action against institutions that allegedly forced students in tribal hostels to clean toilets.
Referring to the proposed new assembly building in Nagpur, he said that the government plans to spend around Rs 1,000 crore on the project to be completed by 2028, "which indicates that the promise of a separate Vidarbha state made during the 2014 assembly elections was unlikely to be fulfilled".
He also raised concerns about low wages in the cement industry in Maharashtra compared with neighboring states such as Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh, alleging that workers were being exploited.
Wadettiwar added that substandard work had been found in projects related to the Kumbh Mela preparations and alleged that while the divisional commissioner was initiating action, ministers were protecting the engineers responsible.