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Mira-Bhayandar: First time member of parliament from Thane, Naresh Mhaske raised the contentious issue of transferring ownership rights of salt pan land parcels in the twin-city to the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) during the zero hour in the ongoing monsoon session of the parliament chaired by Sandhya Ray on Monday.
Emphasising on the urgent need of transferring salt pan land to the civic body, Mhaske stated that several developmental works like road widening, proposed construction of new roads, stadium have been stalled due to the non-execution of the transfer process.
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Salt Pan Land |
Mhaske in his speech also expressed regret that despite the MBMC sending a proposal, the central government authorities are yet to schedule a joint meeting of concerned authorities. He requested the speaker to hold the meeting at the earliest which will ensure better public amenities in the rapidly urbanising twin-city which is adjacent to Mumbai. Mhaske thanked the speaker for allowing him to raise the issue in the house.
Notably, the state government has been assertive towards opening up salt pans for developmental projects. During his visit to Uttan in December, 2023, union minister of commerce and industry Piyush Goyal had assured to resolve the deadlock and find a solution for paving way for transferring ownership rights of some salt pan land parcels in the twin-city to the civic body at the earliest.
However, the transfer proposal has been stuck owing to issues, such as the land-sharing formula between the central and the state and ongoing litigations. On the other hand, it is also a stark reality that vast stretches of salt pan lands have been illegally encroached upon and if these land parcels are not protected and taken care of the threat of losing them to unauthorized constructions will continue to loom over the authorities. Currently, all issues related to salt pans come under the union commerce and industry ministry.
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Zero Hour
Zero Hour is the time when Members of Parliaments (MP’s) can raise issues of urgent public importance. Based on the duration of Zero Hour in Lok Sabha, three minutes are allocated to every member to present an issue during this time. The proceedings of Zero Hour begin right after the end of question hour.
