In an unexpected move, deputy chief minister Chhagan Bhujbal told the legislative assembly that the government had decided to scrap the Rs 2,000-crore Mantralaya makeover plan. The project, which the minister has been pushing enthusiastically for long, has been mired in controversy, the most recent being the opposition’s allegation that the government had declared Mantralaya a slum to get additional FSI. “The Mantralaya precinct redevelopment proposal is a good project. But in view of the continued criticism against it, we have decided to drop it,’’ Bhujbal said, adding that the Mantralaya main building would now be redeveloped through state budgetary funds, while a fresh proposal would be prepared for the remaining work and placed before the infrastructure sub-committee. “We will invite fresh tenders for the purpose,’’ he told the assembly. The deputy CM’s decision is significant politically, as ever since the proposal was first mooted a year ago, he was keen on completing it in a time-bound period. The back-off could well have something to do with chief minister Ashok Chavan gaining the upper hand in the duel with his deputy. While deputy chief minister Bhujbal wanted the makeover, chief minister Ashok Chavan has always been strongly against it, saying that taking up such a project would have an adverse impact on Maharashtra’s image. The PWD minister said that for all government offices the law provides an FSI of 5.32. “There never was a need to seek any other FSI. For the other residential plots we were planning 30-storey towers but well within the FSI limit of 1.33. The political party offices were to be stilt-plus-two-storey structures,’’ he said. “The MLA hostel was a must, as there were MLAs who had still not been allotted a room, and there was a huge demand. To put an end to all criticism we have decided to scrap the project.’’
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