Mumbai, March 10, 2026
Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar on Tuesday issued a stern warning to bureaucracy, stating that the House is fully empowered to take appropriate action if secretary-level officers are found absent from the gallery during crucial legislative discussions.
The warning came during the budget discussion in the Assembly. It was observed that only four ministers were present in the House, and the officers’ gallery remained largely vacant.
Highlighting this lapse, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and former Speaker Dilip Walse Patil raised the issue of administrative absenteeism.
Walse Patil remarked, “The budget is the most critical subject of the House. During this debate, senior officials, including the Chief Secretary, Finance Secretary, and Planning Secretary, are expected to be present in the lobby to take note of the members’ sentiments and suggestions. If we are to maintain the quality of discussion in the House, such debates must be treated with the necessary seriousness.”
He further emphasised that senior departmental heads must be present during department-specific discussions as well.
Concurring with Walse Patil’s stance, Speaker Rahul Narwekar stated, “The point raised regarding the presence of officials is valid. Although this is an ‘invisible gallery,’ it is mandatory for all senior IAS officers to be present. Officials have been informed of this via correspondence previously.”
Issuing a final ultimatum to the state’s administrative machinery, Narwekar added, “This is the last chance for the administration. Moving forward, if Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) level officers are not present in the gallery during such important discussions, the House is capable of taking disciplinary action against them.”
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis informed the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday that the state government intends to establish a comprehensive cold storage chain to protect agricultural produce and ensure fair prices for farmers.
He also announced a significant reduction in electricity rates to provide relief to the agriculture and dairy collection industries.
Responding to a query raised by NCP MLA Anil Patil regarding uniform electricity rates for the dairy processing industry, the Chief Minister stated that the use of chillers is indispensable in dairy collection centres.
Consequently, the state government had requested the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) to grant special concessions to this sector.
“MERC has accepted our request, and the new power tariffs will come into effect from July 1, 2026,” the Chief Minister said.
He detailed the price cuts as follows for the Low Tension (LT) Commercial Category: the tariff was reduced from Rs 16.55 per unit to Rs 7.31 per unit, and for the High Tension (HT) Commercial Category, the tariff was brought down and fixed at Rs 9.06 per unit.
The Chief Minister noted that the government is seriously considering the expansion of cold storage facilities. While the current feasibility of solar-based cold storage is limited, he mentioned that the government is exploring a “hybrid model” of solar and conventional energy to lower costs.
Furthermore, CM Fadnavis shared updates on the Solar Agriculture Feeder Scheme: “So far, 4,000 MW of power generation has been completed, providing daytime electricity to nearly 8 lakh farmers. We aim to generate an additional 10,000 MW by the end of the year, which will enable us to provide daytime power to 75% of the state’s farmers.”(Agency)
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