CM Fadnavis addresses Opp’s concern for Manora’s poor condition

Mumbai: Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday in the assembly admitted that the official residence of MLAs — Manora has a poor construction quality and needs to be reconstructed. The discussion, although not scheduled in the House, happened following the fall of a ceiling portion of one of the flats in Manora on Sunday night. The flat was allotted to NCP MLA Satish Patil of Erandol from Jalgaon district, who stays in this room whenever in Mumbai.

Mr Satish Patil was in his constituency when the portion of ceiling of flat number 112 in B-wing collapsed on Saturday. This incident triggered the discussion on need for reconstruction of Manora building. The building is close to Vidhan Bhavan and has four wings.

Leader of opposition, Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil and NCP leader Ajit Pawar raised the issue in the House. Mr Vikhe Patil said, “Very few MLAs have private flats in Mumbai, so MLAs from rural areas stay in Manora. MLAs come here to raise people’s issues, but if MLAs start getting insecure and scared of staying there, it could definitely harm the public cause.”

While responding to Mr Patil, CM Fadnavis said, “I am aware of Manora and its condition. It is true that its construction quality is poor and we cannot repair it further. I will hold a meeting today itself and try finding an alternative accommodation for the MLAs.”