Centre asks Maha to prepare master plan on salt pan land devp

In a bid to give a fillip to the housing for all scheme, the Centre today asked Maharashtra Government to prepare a master plan on development of salt pan land in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) so that shelter is provided to the urban poor on them.
The direction was given at the 22nd Western Zonal Council meeting here presided over by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and attended by representatives of States concerned, including Chief Ministers.
Maharashtra government was told to study how much salt pan land was available in the MMR, which includes areas from adjoining Thane and Raigad districts, to provide shelter to the urban homeless.

To this, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis informed that Mumbai planning agency MMRDA has been entrusted the task of preparing a master plan on how much area is under salt pan and how much of it is under mangrove, wetland, litigation and coastal regulation zone, Chief Secretary Swadheen Kshatriya told reporters after the meeting.
Fadnavis's proposal of establishing a Central Marine Police Force was also discussed during the meeting, which was attended by Chief Ministers of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Deputy Chief Minister of Goa and administrators of Union Territories Dadra Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.
Naini Jayaselan, Secretary of the inter-state council who was also present at the press conference, said, "Maharashtra will prepare the master plan and a cabinet note, which will be sent to the Department of Industrial Promotion and Policy for further action."

She said the possibility of using surplus land belonging to central agencies like Railway and defence was also discussed. They, too, were asked to identify land to be used for implementing Pradhanmantri Awas Yojana.

Kshatriya said, "Chief Minister Fadnavis reiterated his
demand for a separate central force for patrolling the sea and coastal areas. The Centre indicated it will actively consider the proposal."
"Fadnavis highlighted the steps taken by the state government to strengthen internal security like setting up of Force One (an elite commando force), NSG hub in Mumbai, Quick Response Team (QRT) and installation of CCTV networks in Mumbai and Pune," the Chief Secretary said.

Kshatriya said the task of providing biometric cards to fishermen who regularly venture into the sea would be completed by December.
Jayaselan said the identity of 252 Gujarat fishermen languishing in Pakistan jails have been confirmed after they were given consular access.
The Home Minister assured the Gujarat government that he would seek the help of External Affairs Ministry to bring them back, she said.
"Gujarat has set up a maritime coastal police training institute in Dwarka, while Maharashtra has completed the coastal mapping. All States and the Union Territories (under Western Zonal Council) were sensitised on the issue of internal security," Jayaselan said.