The current fracas between Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar and environment minister Jairam Ramesh emphasises the importance of taking various points of view into consideration before decisions are taken. If there was, for instance, problems with the Lavasa project in Maharashtra, action should have been taken before the project was close to completion?
In fact, this reveals the complete lack of coordination between various ministries, both at the state and Central levels. The state government has the primary responsibility to make sure that laws are being followed. But the multiple agency system adopted in Maharashtra and some other states tends to replace order with chaos. Not surprisingly, there are fears and allegations of political complicity in just about every large-scale project, and more so where land is involved. Read the full report here.
Source: DNA, Mumbai.
