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Maharashtra govt will make details of state's financial health public, says Deshmukh

Siddhartha Arya in Mumbai

Cleaning up the administrative mess created by the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party government during its four-and-a-half years' rule tops Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh's agenda.

Deshmukh, who was sworn in on Monday, told UNI in an interview that he had instructed his ministers to restore the confidence of bureaucrats so that they could gear up to implement the new government's common minimum programme.

He said the process had already begun, and with a little co-operation from the bureaucracy the government should be able to restore the lost glory of the state very soon.

The alliance government headed by Deshmukh comprises the Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party, the Peasants and Workers Group, the Samajwadi Party and several other smaller constituents.

Extolling the state bureaucrats as the best in the country, he said if given a free hand, they were capable of performing miracles.

Deshmukh said his government was committed to transparency and accountability.

The chief minister said the new government's main worry was the state's poor financial status. He said he had sought a detailed note on the state's fiscal health. ''The note should be ready in a week's time. As soon as we get the details we will make them public.''

He said the state's revenue collection had reached a point of saturation and new avenues of resource mobilisation would have to be found out.

The government, he added, would try to simplify rules in order to prevent tax evasion. The chief minister hinted that the government measures could also entail some harsh decisions including stringent austerity measures to restore the financial health of the state.

On the industrial front he said his government, unlike the previous regime, did not believe in statistical stunts. ''We will adopt a realistic policy to create an atmosphere conducive for attracting investment.''

He said the government would concentrate on info-tech industries. Apart from the projects already underway, new sites would be identified and developed for attracting these industries.

He said a network of computers would connect Mantralaya to zilla parishads and gram panchayats.

On his government's plans to solve the unemployment problem he said a self-employment scheme on the lines of the one existing in rural areas, would be launched for the educated unemployed youth.

UNI

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