State to have new Marathi dept: CM
Maharashtra will have a new administrative department for the conservation and development of Marathi. Chief Minister, Ashok Chavan, said this on Wednesday, three days before the state’s 50th foundation day.
Maharashtra will have a new administrative department for the conservation and development of Marathi. Chief Minister, Ashok Chavan, said this on Wednesday, three days before the state’s 50th foundation day.
“There was a demand for a separate administrative department for the development of Marathi. A proposal will be taken before the cabinet for clearance,” Chavan said.
The CM will head the department. Chavan said the state’s cultural policy will also be brought before the cabinet next week.
The Congress-Nationalist Congress Party ruling combine has taken up the Marathi agenda after the Raj Thackeray-led
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena started pushing for the language and the sons of the soil aggressively in cities like Mumbai and Pune.
The MNS’s agitations had an impact on a section of voters and the party fared well in the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in 2009. The party won 13 seats in its debut Assembly polls. With municipal elections to held in all major cities in 2012, the Congress-NCP alliance does not want to take any chances and is furthering its Marathi agenda.
Who will build Sewri-Nhava sea link?
Chavan has said he will decide which agency will build the Sewri-Nhava sea link.
Two government agencies, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) are vying for the project. While MSRDC has put the cost at Rs 7,700 crore, the MMRDA has pegged it at Rs 9,279 crore. “Merit will be the criteria to decide who gets the job,” Chavan said.
Use email, Chavan tells legislators
Chavan has asked legislators to use email for communicating with him instead of wasting paper. “Every day, I get a pile of letters from legislators. It is really sad to waste so much paper and contribute more to global warming,” Chavan said. “I have asked the legislators to use email to communicate with me.” Chavan also said that the government was keen that paperwork in Mantralaya [its headquarters] is reduced and computers are used.