Applauding the State Government’s decision to allot 100 per cent floor space index (FSI) for Nanded City township spread over 700 acres, Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on Sunday urged the government to use the additional FSI for providing affordable housing to lower income group people in the urban area.

“It is very good that the government has doubled the FSI from 50 to 100 per cent for the Nanded City township project, but any further increase in the FSI should be used to provide affordable housing to the lower income group as the property prices are skyrocketing,” Pawar said, after laying the foundation stone of the township project.

He said the poor remained a mere spectator as high-rise buildings were coming up in the urban area and they are unable to afford houses.

Pawar congratulated Magarpatta Township Development and Construction Company Ltd for transforming farmers into entrepreneur by making them stakeholder in its township projects being executed in Pune.

“Not all from a family should be engaged in farming and remain dependent on agriculture,” he said, adding, it was high time that a few did farming and the remaining should explore other sectors for economic empowerment and progress of their family.

“However, the main factor in carrying out such transformation needs trust which the villagers of Nanded have shown in Magarpatta company,” Pawar said, adding, the Harvard University has shown keenness to study the Magarpatta project along with the Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament, both of which have been successful.

The Agriculture Minister, who had approved the Magarpatta City project in Hadapsar during his tenure as the chief minister, said the township helps in planned development of the area and creating a modern city with all facilities.

“The unplanned development puts burden on the local civic bodies while the township project would ease the load on the civic body by managing basic facilities on its own,” he added.

Earlier, Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh announced the government decision to grant 100 per cent FSI for the Nanded City project.

He said the farmers face trouble from developers during purchase of the land, but the Magarpatta model has provided a solution to woes of farmers by involving them in development process.

The agriculture land which is close to urban area does not yield much due to urbanisation and farmers should exploit it for other purpose, Deshmukh said.

Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil said only the developers were making money from the construction business with neither the landowner nor the home-buyer getting benefits. “But the Magarpatta model has made it possible for the land owners to make most out of it by being the stake-holder in the project,” he said.

Guardian Minister Ajit Pawar said the government should provide additional FSI to the township project and use the money collected from premium charges for construction of the much-needed ring road.

On language front,Pawar’s balancing act
Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on Sunday said the insistence to impart knowledge through Marathi language is justified, but the local youths should be conversant with English language for their progress.

“The insistence of Marathi language is understood, but one should not have false pride about it as the local youths should know the English language for their progress,” Pawar said at the closing ceremony of the centenary year of the Akhil Bharatiya Maratha Shikshan Parishad.

He said that English is a language of knowledge and there was a need for opening up more institutes that would teach English language to the youths of backward class community.

“Around 20,000 jobs will be available in the Nanded City township,” Pawar said, adding, the local youths from the backward class cannot stake claim over the opportunity if they are not eligible for it.

“The jobs are bound to go to outside public and lack of knowledge of English language is the main reason behind it,” he added.

It is high time that the importance of English language is understood and the language is learnt for the growth of local youths, Pawar said.