Former mayor and Shiv Sena member Chandrakant Padwal criticised the Housing Department for not hurrying with the repair and reconstruction work of the buildings located in his Opera House assembly constituency, while Congress member Ashok Dhatrak referred to specific cases in Colaba area.

Dhatrak's contention was that if the tenants were prepared to repair their own buildings, then the State Government should relax certain conditions and grant them permission for the same.

Padwal alleged that though a specific proposal was submitted to the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA), Minister of State for Housing Raj Purohit stayed the scheme without consulting the local legislator. "No doubt that Raj Purohit is fullyempowered to grant the stay. However, he should have at least consulted me, since I am representing the area in the assembly," Padwal said.

Purohit immediately stood up to confirm that he had granted a stay following representation made by a section of the tenants, however, he said in view of Padwal's statement, he was vacating the stay with immediate effect.

Replying to the main question raised by Vivek Patil, Housing Minister Sureshdada Jain said during the survey conducted by the Repair and Reconstruction Board, 32 buildings were found in dilapidated condition. Out of these, two have been repaired, while repair of seven buildings is in progress. However, none of the buildings have been reconstructed.

"It is true that we have not been able to reconstruct the old and dilapidated buildings for several reasons. One of the reasons is that the occupants of such buildings are reluctant to vacate the premises for the purpose," Jain pointed out.

Replying to a supplementary, Jain said the AfzalpurkarCommittee report on the status of old and dilapidated buildings in the suburbs is expected in the next two months.

Shiv Sena's Bala Nandgaonkar, BJP's Mohan Raichura, CPM's Narsaiyya Adam and Samajwadi Party's Nawab Malik demanded a fresh survey in consultation with the elected representatives of the people.

Concession on water arrears rejected: Irrigation Minister Eknath Khadse on Wednesday rejected Opposition's demand for massive concessions to farmers in payment of water arrears.

"There is no question of granting any concessions to those farmers, who have drawn water in blatant violation of the rules laid down by the Irrigation Department and the statutory corporations there under. However, the alliance government was sympathetic towards honest and genuine farmers," Khadse told the Legislative Assembly.

Replying to a question raised by Ramesh Kumar Kuthe, Khadse said his department has to recover Rs 455 crore - Rs 175 crore from the farmers and Rs 280 crore from industrial houses - using water fromthe irrigation projects.

Khadse said his government will not hesitate to write off the interest and penalty for farmers, who were drawing water as per the norms prescribed by the department. "In such cases, we will not disconnect their water supply. But there is no sympathy for those who have deliberately violated the rules. I have been informed that a section of the farmers have drawn water without obtaining the prior permission of the department," Khadse added.

The Irrigation Minister said his department was considering appointing officials of the rank of tehsildar to undertake recovery operations. "We are seeking more officials for the purpose," he added.

Congress members Padamsinh Patil, R R Patil and Laxman Dhoble demanded that the entire outstanding amount should be waived or at least, they should be given the facility of paying the same by installment.