Task force will identify undocumented Bangladeshis in Sambhajinagar: Minister Shirsat

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Jan 30 (PTI) Maharashtra minister Sanjay Shirsat on Thursday said a task force under collector will be formed to identify Bangladeshi nationals residing illegally in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.

The task force will be asked to submit its report within a month, said the senior cabinet member who holds the social justice portfolio and is also the guardian minister of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district in central Maharashtra.

Shirsat was interacting with reporters after presiding over the first District Planning Committee meeting as the guardian minister.

Asked about his earlier statement that the government will track down undocumented Bangladeshi nationals in the district, he said, "We discussed this issue in today's meeting. A task force under district collector will be formed. This task force will include city police commissioner, district rural SP, zilla parishad chief executive officer and the municipal commissioner. Under their watch, a door-to-door survey will be conducted and a report will be submitted to us in one month." The Shiv Sena minister expressed his disagreement with a state government department committee's report which has suggested curtailment of water for the Jayakwadi dam in the district.

"Some committee has presented a report (to the government) regarding water distribution in the Godavari river basin and Jayakwadi. It is shown in the report that water evaporation in the dam has reduced. Because of this, curtailment of 11 per cent of water (for Jayakwadi dam) has been mentioned in the report. We don't agree with this report," he emphasised.

The dam is the biggest irrigation project in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra.

"All MLAs and MPs (from Marathwada) will meet the Chief Minister and insist that this report should not be accepted. We will not accept any cut in water for the Jayakwadi dam," the MLA from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (West) asserted.

Asked about curbing crimes in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, the minister said, "I have spoken about crime and drug menace in the city. Action will be taken against those involved in illegal activities." PTI AW RSY