Tough decisions await Fadnavis

ON THE AGENDA | With changed role, the chief minister has to do a lot to restore public confidence; challenges will put pressure on his administrative skills

- S Balakrishnan

Maharashtra's 21st chief minister Devendra Fadnavis (54) is facing several challenges which will put pressure on his administrative skills in the extreme.

For starters, he will have to revive two big-ticket projects which were booted out by the erstwhile Uddhav Thackeray government. One is the Rs3 lakh crore oil refinery and petrochemical project which was first to come up with investment from the Saudi oil major ARAMCO at Nanar and later shifted to Barsu in the Konkan belt. This mega project would have given a major boost to the state's economy. But the MVA government led by Uddhav Thackeray vetoed it on environmental grounds. The other project is the Jaitapur atomic power project which the French behemoth Areva was keen on implementing at a cost of Rs1.12 trillion. With a capacity of 9,900 MW, it was to be the biggest nuclear power plant in the world. The MVA said 'nakko' (No) to this venture too, despite the enormous benefits that would have accrued from it. On the one hand, the MVA was complaining about large projects going to Gujarat whereas it was putting the brakes on mega projects in Maharashtra itself.

Fadnavis' task would be to revive both these projects. The opposition is certain to prod the local villagers into agitation. Here the new CM's skills at negotiation will have to be used to take the locals on board.