‘Maha govt destroyed environment’

Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and former environment minister Aaditya Thackeray on Friday slammed the BJP Mahayuti government in the state while accusing it of destroying the environment for want of monetary gains. He also raised questions over effects of climate change seen in Mumbai and most parts of Maharashtra while urging the government to take an immediate action on such issues.

“The government is not taking climate change seriously. We are not opposed to development, but we are committed to protecting the climate. We are against the vinash (destruction), not against vikas (development),” Thackeray said while addressing a press conference.

He stated that the state government is “destroying jungles and environment” which, he added, is crucial for the arrival of monsoon season. He also said that his party is “not against development, but the destruction.”

Thackeray criticised the decisions made by the State Wildlife Board under the leadership of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at its meeting yesterday. The board, in its 24th meeting yesterday, had granted forest and wildlife related clearances to the Gargai reservoir project which is said to be crucial for water supply to Mumbai.

Thackeray said that the decision will result in the felling of thousands of trees.

Accusing the state government of “playing with the future”, Thackeray said that the approval of the Gargai dam project in Palghar would result in the felling of nearly five lakh trees.

“Yesterday, during a meeting of the State Wildlife Board, the Chief Minister decided on many things, which would result in the felling of trees in lakhs. Nearly 5 lakh trees would be cut to build a dam that will provide Mumbai with 450 MLD of water. They are destroying jungles and the environment, which are responsible for the rains. This is a money game. They are playing with our future,” he said.

“We are seeing what climate change means. We can see it unfolding before us,” he added.

Furthermore, Thackeray raised concerns about the rising temperatures in April, reaching 40 degrees Celsius, stating that this hasn't been witnessed before.

“Maharashtra has recorded temperatures over 40 degrees Celsius, and this is in April. The government didn't cross the 400 mark, but the temperatures have increased by over 40 degrees Celsius. We have never witnessed this before,” the former environment minister said.

“In Mumbai, the water problem is a huge issue. The BJP has not solved this issue. CM has not solved this issue. We held a protest on this (issue), but police detained our party workers,” Thackeray added.

Interestingly, on questions related to state government’s decision to start teaching Hindi as third language in schools from first standard, Thacekray remained non-committal.