Mumbai, July 23: Under attack from an agitated Shiv Sena-BJP opposition over discrimination in distribution of funds for developmental works in the constituencies of saffron combine MLAs, Chief Minister Sushilkumar Shinde today announced in the state assembly that Rs 150 crore from Contingency Fund (CF) would be disbursed within a month for work in the assembly segments of Shiv Sena-BJP MLAs. The disparity in the distribution of developmental funds in the supplementary demands for 2003-04 rocked the house which witnessed noisy scenes as the opposition members protested against the disparity while the lower house faced a brief adjournment. The house later passed the supplementary demands totalling Rs 6,506 crore by a voice vote without any debate as the Sena-BJP members staged a walkout to protest the 'discrimination'. Earlier, opposition leader Narayan Rane raised the matter in the house wanting to take up department-wise debate on the supplementary demands.


"Never in the history of Maharashtra, developmental works in constituencies of opposition MLAs were neglected," Rane said.


The government belongs to the entire nine crore population of the state and the ruling coalition cannot discriminate in the distribution of funds giving more weightage to DF MLAs, Rane said.

He also sharply attacked the government for distributing Rs 25 crore funds to ruling party MLAs in Mumbai and suburbs by the urban development ministry. Sena legislator Vinayak Raut has already moved the Mumbai High Court in this regard.
Bureau Report