Mumbai, Jul 10 (PTI) Opposition parties on Friday mounted a sharp attack on the Maharashtra government at the conclusion of the Monsoon Session of the legislature, accusing it of poor financial management, undermining legislative conventions and tarnishing the state's image through infrastructure failures, including rain-related issues of Mumbai-Pune Expressway's Missing Link project.

Addressing a joint press conference, NCP (SP) leader Jayant Patil, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Bhaskar Jadhav as well as Congress leaders Nana Patole and Nitin Raut claimed the government had failed to address key public issues while pushing through legislation and supplementary demands.

Patil said Maharashtra was spending less than 3.75 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) against the benchmark of around 6 per cent. "Even Bhutan and the Maldives have a better performance," he claimed.

Referring to the supplementary demands of Rs 97,000 crore cleared during the session, Patil said they reflected flaws in the original budget.

"If such a huge supplementary demand is required, it means the original budget was incomplete. This is not the right way to run a government," Patil said.

He also alleged repeated paper leaks in competitive examinations such as CET and TET and claimed the government "can only break things".

Patil further alleged that a racket involved in grabbing land belonging to Hindu temples was active in Maharashtra and claimed no legal action had been taken against those responsible. He said the Opposition had also raised the issue of land related to the Haffkine Institute during the session.

Taking aim at the government's infrastructure projects, Patil said bridges constructed by the state "appear to be less durable than Chinese products", in an apparent reference to the controversy surrounding the Missing Link project on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Bhaskar Jadhav accused the treasury benches of reducing the legislature to a formality by failing to devote adequate time to discussions.

"Twenty-five minutes of the House were wasted because ministers were absent despite Opposition members being present. Although 2,899 calling attention notices were submitted, only 65 were taken up for discussion. Similarly, out of around 9,500 questions submitted by legislators, only 58 were discussed," he pointed out.

Jadhav said the government secured passage of 21 of the 22 Bills introduced during the Monsoon Session, alleging that legislative procedures were being ignored.

"Eight Bills were introduced and three more, which had been cleared by the Legislative Council, were passed during the last two days. The government is interested only in getting supplementary demands approved," he said.

Former state Congress president Nana Patole said the government had brought "disrepute" to Maharashtra through the execution of the Missing Link project.

"Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis says nobody should insult Maharashtra. But his own work is denting the state's image. If such an expensive road is being constructed, every precaution should have been taken," Patole said.

He also questioned the credibility of the government's announcement on a farm loan waiver and criticised it for attributing various problems to heavy rainfall.

Patole alleged that prominent temple trusts, including Siddhivinayak, Pandharpur and (Shirdi) Sai Baba, were under scrutiny over financial matters.

Referring to alleged irregularities linked to temple donations, he questioned the rationale behind creating trusts for temples at Ramtek with legislators as trustees.

Patole claimed that 178 schools in Maharashtra still function without buildings, 3,095 schools lack toilets and nearly 10,000 schools have no playgrounds.

He said the number of schools in the state had fallen from around 67,000 to 65,000 over the years, with 2,560 schools having been shut.

He further alleged that the government was facilitating the entry of foreign universities through Singapore and planned to provide them free land in Maharashtra.

"Rural roads are in poor condition and contractors are awaiting payments of Rs 17,000 crore. The Public Works Department sought only a small allocation in the supplementary demands despite mounting dues. The financial condition of the state is so poor that it has no money to clear contractors' dues or repair schools," Patole alleged.

Senior Congress leader Nitin Raut criticised the government over an issue involving the state government's 'Lokrajya' magazine, alleging an image of Dr B R Ambedkar had been printed upside down.

"So many officials work in the Directorate General of Information and Public Relations. How could such a mistake happen despite multiple levels of proofreading and verification?" he asked.

Raut also alleged irregularities in power wheeling charges, claiming around Rs 7,000 crore had been collected and reflected in official accounts.

He alleged that power plants with a combined generation capacity of 1,600 MW had remained shut in accordance with rules, adding that the government was paving the way for privatisation of Maharashtra's power sector. PTI ND BNM