Pune: Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday went on the attack against those opposing state govt’s Rs 5,000 advance assistance to farmers affected by crop losses, suggesting they were out of touch with reality.“This is an advance amount and our support to farmers will continue. Those accustomed to travelling in big cars and living in large houses cannot understand its importance, but farmers do,” Fadnavis said, adding that the process of transferring the assistance to farmers’ bank accounts had already begun.Claiming that Mahayuti govt had provided the highest assistance to farmers compared with previous govts, he alleged that earlier govt and administration had offered only token relief. He added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured Centre’s assistance.
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About the Metro, the CM said Pune would eventually have an extensive network. “Once all these lines are completed, Pune will have a 120km Metro network, which will also connect Purandar airport,” he said. Foundation stones for four corridors under the second phase of the Metro project were laid on Monday.Fadnavis said govt has drawn up an integrated infrastructure development plan for Pune, Pimpri Chinchwad and Pune Metropolitan Region (PMR), covering the outer and inner ring roads, High Capacity Mass Transit Route (HCMTR), tunnels and other major infrastructure projects.The plan also envisages coordinated development of essential civic infrastructure, including drinking water supply and drainage systems, with these facilities linked to the region’s overall growth, Fadnavis said, adding that Centre has agreed to provide Rs 5,000 crore.The chief minister also said PMPML was now part of the Metro’s integrated ticketing system through Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC).Following complaints of rainwater leakage at a station and non-operational stations, Fadnavis said: “Some work remains to be completed. We will finish that and review its quality,” he said.Describing the corridor as an engineering marvel and an extremely challenging project, Fadnavis said its execution had involved numerous hurdles and required almost daily monitoring, with approvals issued on a war footing.Fadnavis refused to be drawn into the controversy over Dia Mirza’s video for BMC, saying the issue did not warrant attention at his level.
