Aam Aadmi Party urges govt to review plan to shift irrigation dept HQ out of Pune

Pune: Aam Aadmi Party members on Monday demanded that the state govt review its decision to shift the irrigation department’s headquarters from Pune to Kolhapur and Solapur.

The party members said moving the office out of Pune would adversely impact water supply management.

“Attempts are being made to reduce Pune’s administrative significance. Without any discussion in the Cabinet, decisions are being taken arbitrarily at the administrative level to hijack an important administrative headquarters from Pune,” AAP neta Abhijit More said at a press conference.

“Pune is geographically centrally located, boasting excellent road, rail and air connectivity. Comparatively, the Mantralaya [state secretariat] is also nearby. Pune serves as a highly suitable and convenient location for farmers to have as a headquarters for water management,” More said.

AAP said in a statement that the headquarters has been artificially split in two and is being relocated to two different cities. The decision would lead to “fragmentation rather than the decentralisation of comprehensive water management”, it said. “Dams, canals and special projects are interdependent and interconnected. Separating these offices will weaken administrative coordination; files will cycle through Pune, Kolhapur, Solapur, Kolhapur and back to Pune, stalling major project.”

More added: “For the water management of the Krishna-Bhima basin, it is essential that senior officials such as the executive director, the chief engineer (water resources) and the chief engineer (special projects) operate from a single central office. Water resources projects require constant technical sanctions, budget approvals and inter-departmental coordination.”