Wednesday, February 23 2005 20:26 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Mumbai: Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today (Feb 23, 2005) said there was no alternative to clearing slums in the metropolis and asserted some of the problems of the city could not be resolved without removing the huts.

"There is no other alternative to clearing the slums and allowing them would not solve problems of the city," Vajpayee said after the release of a book written by state BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) chief Nitin Gadkari 'The Path to Progress'.

The book takes a look at the Mumbai-Pune Expressway and flyovers, bridges conceptualised by Gadkari and constructed during the tenure of the saffron rule.

Vajpayee said the population of Mumbai was increasing and was affecting the civic amenities in the metropolis.

He wondered whether the demolition drive in the city would merely target migrants from rural areas or will it bring out development.

"Why were so many slums allowed to come up in the metropolis in the first place?" the former Prime Minister said.

"This is not the right time to speak on the issue and so I will not comment further on it," he said.

The NDA (National Democratic Alliance) Government successfully carried out development work in the country in its six-year tenure, Vajapyee said adding the golden quadrilateral project initiated by NDA Government was praised across the world.

Vajpayee said that on the basis of his six years experience in power he could say assertively that development work in the country could be carried out if one has the will and there would never be shortage of funds.

Development of roads are essential to progress as they are connected to the economy of the country, he said adding a nation-wide programme for improvement of the road should be undertaken.

Congratulating Gadkari for the development work carried out during the saffron tenure, Vajpayee said the Mumbai-Pune Expressway was a milestone in the development of the country.

Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray said the saffron alliance missed briskly to achieve power while the DF (Democratic Front) alliance came to power without carrying out any development work in the State.

On the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, Thackeray said the dream project was first proposed to him by Dhirubhai Ambani in 1990 and was rejected by the then Chief Minister Sharad Pawar.

"After the saffron alliance came to power, I urged the State Government to undertake project at any cost," he added.

The Sena supremo said the Opposition in Maharashtra should force the DF Government to carry out development work.

Former Lok Sabha Speaker Manohar Joshi, senior BJP leader Pramod Mahajan and Gopinath Munde and Sena leader Narayan Rane spoke on the occasion.

Vajpayee also felicitated the officials who implemented the project.