Monday, August 8 2005 11:11 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh yesterday (August 7, 2005) said that he was hopeful of Centre approving the Rs 2,000 crore plan for upgrading the drainage system of the metropolis, recently hit by heavy rains and consequent flood and widespread damage to its infrastructure.

"When we approached the Prime Minister (Manmohan Singh) and drew his attention to the Rs 2,000 crore plan prepared by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), for toning up the drainage system of Mumbai, he had said he would take up the issue on a priority basis", Deshmukh told reporters after a function to handover Rs 1.25 crore medicines to the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM).

"We expect to get Rs 1 crore medicine for distribution," he said.

"I feel the Prime Minister himself is personally seized of the need for Mumbai's development and I feel Mumbai will be the biggest beneficiary of the Urban Renewal Fund," he added.

On a section of the media blaming him for the delay in relief work following heavy rains, Deshmukh said, "Blaming me is not the solution to Mumbai's problems. Moreover, I am not the one wholly responsible for everything that has gone wrong."