Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has written an explosive letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. Minister Nitin Gadkari has given a warning to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray that work on national highways will be stopped due to Shiv Sena's illegal activities and terror. Gadkari said in the letter that local Shiv Sena MLAs are opposing the road works in Washim district.
National road development has been stalled for the last several months. "When I got the information, I came to know that the local Shiv Sena representatives had stopped the work," Gadkari said in the letter. Also, Gadkari has given an implicit warning to the Chief Minister that if the local leaders continue like this, they will have to reconsider approving new road works in Maharashtra.
Further in the letter, Gadkari made another point. Officers and contractors have been harassed by a variety of unregulated demands. Gadkari has also conveyed to the Chief Minister through the letter that they have gone to great lengths to stop work due to non-fulfillment of demands.
Gadkari's letter to CM1. The four-laning of 202 km National Highway Akola and Nanded is underway in four packages. Package-2 from Gedshi to Washim also includes construction of bypass (length 12 km) for Washim city. However, I have been told that the Shiv Sena MPs have stopped the work on the bypass and the main road.
2. The work on the Malegaon to Risod National Highway, which is underway in this constituency, has been completed except for one bridge. The work of the high bridge over the Panganga river in this length is in partial form. The contractor is being barred from completing it. When the work starts, the workers come and give threats. Therefore, the contractor has requested to finalize the work in the condition it is in.
3. The Pulgaon-Karanja-Malegaon-Mehkar-Sindkhedraja National Highway is in a very bad condition. Its repair work (estimated cost 135 crores) was undertaken by our Ministry. But except for the length in Washim Lok Sabha constituency, the work of other places has been completed. I was informed that the work in Washim district, especially the road work passing through Selu Bazar village, was stopped by Shiv Sena workers. When the contractor resumed work as per the demand of the people in the area and the road was in a dangerous condition, Shiv Sena workers set fire to the machinery and created panic among the officers-employees-workers of the contractor. Therefore, the work has stopped again.
4. Considering the above, how should the work on National Highways in Washim district continue? Our ministry is now seriously considering this. If these works are finalized in the condition they are in, they will be dangerous for transportation. The number of accidents will increase and so will the public dissatisfaction.
5. If this continues, our ministry will have to consider approving work on the National Highways in Maharashtra. This will be detrimental to Maharashtra and the people.
De-scoping these works will make you a criminal in the eyes of the people. If that happens, I will always have grief in my mind as a citizen and people's representative of Maharashtra. I think your intervention is necessary if these works are to be completed. I beg you to please find a way out of this.