Senior BJP leader and Maharashtra Minister Eknath Khadse today took jibes at NCP chief Sharad Pawar saying as rains have washed away threat of drought, the former Union Minister will have to look for another "issue" to take on the state government.
"Since there have been good rains in the last few days, the threat of drought does not remain. Hence, Pawar will have to come up with a new issue," Khadse, who is the Revenue Minister, said when asked about Pawar's three day tour of Vidarbha to take stock of drought in the region.
He said that due to satisfactory rains in the last few days, the threat of drought is almost over.
"The number of tankers supplying water have been cut down by 70 per cent. We are expecting a good Rabi season," Khadse told reporters here.
He said despite good rains, cloud seeding will continue as planned till October.
"Rs 27 crore contract has already been awarded for 100 hours of cloud seeding. The contractor has said additional 100 hours of cloud seeding would be done free of cost. So far, the experiment has shown satisfactory results. Hence, the project would continue as planned," the minister added.
Khadse said the state government will implement a horticulture scheme on one lakh hectare under National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) for three years.
