In a major decision after assuming power last month, the new Maharashtra government led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis slashed Value Added Tax (VAT) on petrol and diesel by ₹5 and ₹3 respectively per liter.
Mr Fadnavis further informed that the state government had given all approvals to expedite the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project, which was shelved by the erstwhile Uddhav Thackeray-led tripartite ‘Maha Vikas Aghadi’ (MVA) government. .
The decision to cut fuel prices was taken in the second cabinet meeting since the new Shiv Sena (Shinde faction)-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government was formed on June 30.
Stating that the reduction in fuel prices would cost the state exchequer an annual burden of Rs 6,000 crore, CM Shinde said the public would get the much-needed relief. Shri Shinde further emphasized that no development project will be affected as a result of this relief.
“This decision is part of the Shiv Sena-BJP government’s commitment to public welfare,” Mr Shinde said, indirectly taking a jibe at the previous MVA government.
Earlier this year, soon after the Center cut excise duty on diesel and petrol, the Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA had announced a reduction in value-added tax (VAT) on petrol by Rs. 2.08 per liter and diesel Rs. 1.44 per litre.
Mr Fadnavis alleged that the MVA has not really reduced fuel prices and said that the current reduction by the new government is the first step towards providing real relief to the public.
bullet train project
Addressing a press conference at Mantralaya after the state cabinet meeting, Mr. Fadnavis while speaking on the bullet train project said that Chief Minister Shinde has given all the approvals for the project.
He said the pending issues are related to forest clearance and land acquisition.
The estimated cost of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project is ₹1,10,000 crore, of which ₹88,000 crore is being funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). More than 70% of the land required for the project in Maharashtra has been acquired in Thane and Palghar districts.
The project had become the cause of further tussle between the MVA and the Modi government at the Centre, with the former taking no steps to go ahead with it.
direct elections to panchayats
Meanwhile, the new Shinde-Fadnavis government dealt another blow to the earlier MVA as it announced that the presidents of nagar panchayats and municipal councils in Maharashtra will now be directly elected by the people.
Shri Shinde also announced that the cabinet has approved direct election of sarpanches of village panchayats in the state.
With these, the new government has undone the decisions of the previous MVA government in 2020, according to which the presidents of nagar panchayats and councils were to be elected by the councillors and not directly by the people.
The latest decision regarding the election of Nagar Panchayat and Council Presidents as well as direct election of Sarpanch is clearly aimed at weakening the hold of the opposition Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress in rural and semi-urban areas. Municipal and local bodies elections are to be held in the near future.
Commenting on the formation of the new cabinet, Shri Shinde assured that the ministers would be inducted soon and their portfolios would be assigned.
Mr Fadnavis said the cabinet formation would certainly be faster than the MVA government, which had “only five ministers for one-and-a-half months” before the cabinet was formed.
Almost two weeks after Mr Shinde broke away from his faction from the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, none of the ministers in the new government have been sworn in except the chief minister (Mr Shinde) and the deputy chief. Minister (Shri Fadnavis).