Pune, Correspondent

A massive protest march was organized today by the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) to demand immediate action against developers responsible for stalled slum rehabilitation projects in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad. The march was led by VBA founder-president Balasaheb Ambedkar.

During the protest, a delegation from the party held discussions with officials of the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA). The officials reportedly agreed in principle to replace developers of projects that have been stalled for the past five years and to initiate penal action against them.

Officials also agreed to the demand that, similar to Mumbai, eligible and ineligible slum dwellers should be provided with ₹15,000 as monthly rent compensation. Additionally, they assured that complaints from slum dwellers declared ineligible would be reviewed and that their eligibility status could be reconsidered.

In its memorandum, the VBA delegation firmly demanded that every slum dweller should receive a quality home with a minimum area of 500 square feet.

Balasaheb Ambedkar urged the participants to support VBA candidates in the upcoming elections, stating that if the demand for 500-square-foot homes is not withdrawn, a final decision on the issue could soon be achieved.

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As the countdown for the Lok Sabha elections has started, a tussle has started over the distribution of 48 seats in Maharashtra. Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi leader Prakash Ambedkar also attended the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) meeting held on Wednesday, but he did not give any indication on seat distribution. There is talk that 20 seats have been divided, while 28 will be discussed on March 9. More or less, the situation is the same with the ruling party Mahayuti also.

In Maharashtra, the ruling party and the opposition are claiming that the seat sharing issue has been settled amicably. But, there are some key constituencies and candidates which are yet to be decided at both the party and alliance levels. Three of the controversial seats are from Mumbai. Besides, there are one seat each in Thane, Pune, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Satara and Nagpur.

Shah's meeting with Shinde and Ajit Pawar
Union Home Minister Amit Shah held a meeting with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Wednesday. The seat-sharing formula was discussed in this meeting. Shah's visit to the state, a few days before the announcement of Lok Sabha election dates, is considered important for seat sharing with allies, as allies Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) and NCP (Ajit faction) are demanding more seats. .

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