The Opposition is going hammer and tongs at the government’s decision to shift the office of the Maharashtra Institute for Transformation (MITRA) at Nariman Point in south Mumbai, which is costing the state Rs 21.38 lakh per month in month. The new office will be set up in 7,920 sq ft at Nirmal Bhavan building. The state government had informed it with the Government Resolution (GR) issued on September 15.
According to the GR, MITRA was allotted 1,200 sq ft of office space on the 18th floor of the new administration building opposite the Maharashtra Mantralaya. But as per the request of the MITRA for the bigger space, the state government has approved of 7,920 sq ft of office space on private premises near Mantralaya for Rs 21.34 lakh per month in rent. The Opposition has questioned this move and has raised doubts over the working of MITRA.
According to former Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, “If the institute like MITRA is going to work on the lines of the erstwhile Planning Commission of India, then I have no objection on any necessary spending. But if this arrangement is only to favour to somebody’s ‘MITRA’ (friend), then certainly I have objections. I have seen the Planning Commission of India functioning during the period of former prime minister Manmohan Singh very closely. It consisted experts of international repute from various fields who advised the PM on critical issues related to national development. But here it looks people in power want to accommodate their cronies. It is highly objectionable.”
Last year on November 11, the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government set up MITRA on the lines of Centre’s NITI Aayog. The main work of MITRA was to analyse the data of various departments of the Maharashtra government and establish coordination between them and work on projects along with taking the economy of state to $1 trillion.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is the Chairman of MITRA, which also has two vice-presidents, one private realty developer Ajay Ashar, who is considered to be close to Shinde, and MLA Rajesh Kshirsagar from Kolhapur. Senior bureaucrat Praveen Pardeshi was appointed its CEO.
Regarding shifting of this department to a new and private office, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader of opposition Ambadas Danve says it is necessary to have a government office in a government building. “What is the point of spending lakhs of rupees on a private building, especially when Maharashtra’s budget is in deficit?”
Meanwhile, former cabinet minister and senior leader of Maharashtra Congress Balasaheb Thorat said, “MITRA should specify its roadmap first and explain how it is going to contribute to the state. They were already given space in the government building, which was very much near to the Mantralay, then why do they require such a big space and that too on private premises? The spending on the rent of the new office would have been avoided if they could have planned it better”.
Minister of Marathi Language of Maharashtra Deepak Kesarkar while speaking to regional media on this issue had said, “The building where MITRA’s office was earlier was very small. There is less space in the new administrative building and MITRA’s aim is to take Maharashtra’s economy to $1 trillion. Therefore, it is not right to express doubt on its motive. MITRA has been formed on the lines of NITI Aayog. It is natural for a state like Maharashtra, which has a big economy compared to other states, to constantly need a committee like MITRA, but the expenditure incurred on it is equally important.”
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