Nagpur: The winter session of the Maharashtra legislature begins in Nagpur on Monday, as the Devendra Fadnavis government 2.0 marks its first year in office. The session will be limited to a week. With the model code of conduct (MCC) for municipal council and nagar parishad elections in effect, the government is unlikely to take major policy decisions or make new announcements.
The session, initially planned to run until December 19, was curtailed in view of the next phase of nagar palika and nagar panchayat elections followed by the Supreme Court-mandated timeline for local body polls. The Business Advisory Committee formally approved the revised schedule. Though December 13 and 14 are Saturday and Sunday, both houses will still conduct business.
The short session has renewed the debate on the utility of hosting this extravagant annual jamboree in the state’s second capital. As part of the Nagpur Pact of 1960 signed by the state’s first chief minister YB Chavan to assuage the feelings of people of Vidarbha who desired a separate state outside of Maharashtra, it was agreed to give second capital status to Nagpur and have a legislative session here for at least four weeks to focus on issues related especially to Vidarbha.
But over the years this very purpose seems to have diluted and the winter session has become a customary event. Irrespective of the session duration, the costs involved in shifting the Mumbai Mantralaya to Nagpur, refurbishing the infrastructure, lying idle for the rest of the year, for the session is humongous. Since arrangements for the session including spending on it falls under Speaker’s jurisdiction the exact figures are never in public domain. Speculation and public perception is that over Rs100 crore are spent on the event as it includes repairs and construction of Vidhan Bhavan premises, accommodation for ministers, MLAs and staff, security arrangements.
The short duration of the session that will end on Dec 14 would mean the government would push through its official bills and business. Besides the agrarian crisis, the opposition may aggressively target the Mahayuti government on issues such as crop-insurance fraud affecting thousands of farmers, the demand for Maratha reservation and allegations of scams involving several ministers. Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar is also expected to face heat over the Pune land scam in which his son, Parth, has been named.
Corruption and irregularities in the on-going civic body polls are also set to be raised prominently. Opposition parties are already accusing the government of curtailing the winter session to just one week as it wants to avoid intense scrutiny. “We did try to put forth the view that the short session serves no purpose. Instead, the government could have a budget session in Nagpur,” said group leader of the Assembly and Congress MLA Vijay Wadettiwar. “But the Fadnavis government is not serious about resolving the pressing public issues,” said Wadettiwar, talking to GPlus.
Meanwhile, the winter session is bound to bring cheer and more bucks to businesses, including hotels and airlines and transport who have doubled or even tripled the rates. Hotel rooms, generally Rs10,000 a night in a premium hotel, have gone up to around Rs30,000. Without hitting an airpocket, plane fares between Mumbai and Nagpur are going through the sky. Indigo collapse only added to the burden for the non-political air travellers. The winter session sees a huge influx of lobbyists and wheeler-dealers who find it far easier to manoeuvre here than in Mumbai.
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