Mumbai: Employment Guarantee and Horticulture Minister Bharat Gogawale faced the ire of BJP MLA Vinod Agarwal from Gondia at the Vidhan Bhavan premises on Tuesday.
Agarwal lashed out at Gogawale, alleging that he had not received funds for work completed under the Employment Guarantee Scheme (EGS) in his constituency. A heated verbal exchange followed between the two leaders.
According to Agarwal, not once in the last few months had the required funds—although sanctioned for Gondia district—been released.
"This won't work. I will have to share this with media persons," said Agarwal, further alleging that an officer was releasing funds only after receiving a bribe.
By this time, a group of legislators had gathered around the duo as the argument intensified. Gogawale attempted to pacify Agarwal and even got the district collector on the phone to intervene. Eventually, both leaders were calmed by other legislators.
Meanwhile, it is said that the EGS Department has not received its full share from the state budget. For the current financial year, the department was allocated ₹4,185 crore, of which only ₹1,379 crore has been released for distribution. Notably, Gondia district alone is awaiting ₹407 crore.
"Our district should have received at least ₹133 crore from the allocated funds, but not a single rupee has been disbursed," said Agarwal.
"I have provided Minister Gogawale with detailed information and also conveyed the deep sense of injustice felt in Gondia district," he added.
"The districts in East Vidarbha have been allocated only 10-15% of the funds, while Marathwada districts have received over 50%. We, the MLAs of Vidarbha, will not tolerate such discrimination," Agarwal asserted.
Interestingly, it was once the ministers and MLAs of the Shinde group who complained about fund allocation. Social Justice Minister Sanjay Shirsat has also publicly voiced concerns about the diversion of funds.
