NCP ON THE BACK FOOT

MAYOR SUDHAKAR SONAWANE’S SAYS NCP NOT AGAINST SMART CITY

The meeting that municipal commissioner had with the chief minister and chief secretary was to give details of the decision taken by the NMMC general body as we are under the jurisdiction of the urban development department of the state.

I have repeatedly said that we have not withdrawn from the race. We were in the race and will continue to do so. We are not opposed to the smart city, we are only opposed to Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV).

If someone tells me he is giving me loan and hence I should get my house renovated, it won’t do. The

people of the city have put their trust in us. We need to look into whether we need the loan and how to pay it back.

We are only demanding change in the clause which gives all powers to the SPV.

If we do not give the proposal within the deadline of December 15, we will be out of the race. Hence, the chief minister has used his powers to give us a month to make changes in the NMMC general body and send the proposal back.

However, if we reject it again, it will not be accepted for the race. Even if the state government and central government accept it, the final decision will be that of the local selfgovernment. For it to succeed the state and central governments will have to change and modify the norms or make a new act in the parliament.