The Maharashtra government is seriously considering a proposal to recover 3 per cent cess on diesel and 1 per cent on petrol in order to raise funds for IRDP projects being implemented in major cities and township of the state. | |
| Minister of state for urban development Rajesh Tope disclosed this in the upper house of the state legislature while replying to a calling attention motion moved by BJP members Shrikant Joshi, Nitin Gadkari, Vinod Tawde and Sagar Meghe over stalled civic projects and works in Aurangabad. |
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| The provision to charge cess in those cities which are hosting IRDP projects is already incorporated in the original GR for IRDP. |
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| Leader of the Opposition in the legislative council Nitin Gadkari lamented that no public representative was extending any support for these projects from legislators' or MPs' funds. |
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| Tope agreed that IRDP works at Amravati, Aurangabad and Nagpur were stalled as MLAs had not forwarded their promised contribution towards the projects. |
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| He also accepted the fact that MSRDC was unable to raise funds on its own and needed the contribution of local legislators, parliamentarians and local self-government bodies for implementing civic projects. |
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| He said that the cess was being recovered in Mumbai against the development of roads and bridges and on the same lines the decision will be implemented in other municipal areas. |
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