Sant Gadgebaba Gram Swachchata Abhiyan

Sant Gadgebaba Gram Swachchata Abhiyan is still known as one of the most important decisions taken by the NCP. This campaign changed the face of Rural Maharashtra. A new chapter of village cleanliness was written with it. Many villages were cleared of garbage. This led to improving village cleanliness and health of villagers. Gram Swachchata Abhiyan was the brainchild of then Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra and NCP leader, late Shri R. R. Patil. Gram Swachchata Abhiyan got universal recognition; Shri Patil was honoured at UNO after the huge success of this campaign. It was and will be a matter of pride for every member of the Nationalist Congress Party.

NCP was in the coalition government. Party Ministers took the initiative to fulfill the irrigation backlog in Vidarbha and Marathwada by fully implementing the ordinance issued by the Governor. Vidarbha and Marathwada were provided with all the necessary funds.

Maharashtra Knowledge Corporation was established with the objectives of e-learning, e-governance and e-empowerment. In the last 18 years, MKCL has played an important role in increasing computer literacy in the state. The establishment of the Maharashtra Knowledge Corporation was a great help in achieving the vision of Pawar saheb for the establishment of a knowledge-based society.

Maharashtra became the first state in the country to register documents online (e-registration). In the Registration and Stamp Department, a web-based system namely 'I Sarita' was developed and all the secondary registrar offices in the state were connected to the central server through VPN connectivity. This made it easier to perform technical controls, emergency assistance, updates, and online implementation in real-time. Maharashtra became the first state in the country to formulate a comprehensive e-governance policy. Maharashtra also became the first state in the country to set up an independent hub for the use of cloud computing.

Establishment of Water Resources Regulatory Authority for the first time in the country by deciding Maharashtra's water policy.
Maharashtra became the first state in India to set up a State Water Council and independent quasi-judicial authority for water. The central formula of this authority is to prepare an integrated water plan for the integrated regulation of surface water available in the state as well as groundwater and water required for all types of needs. By establishing the concept of 'water rights', it was decided to provide water to more and more areas and for irrigation purposes through water sharing and cubic metering through societies.

2005
Division of Electrical Circuit
When NCP came to power, the state was facing a severe shortage of electricity. Pawar Saheb has always insisted on the self-sufficiency of electricity. The electricity issues were a prime agenda in the 2004 election. Shri Dilip Walse Patil as the Minister of Maharashtra State Electricity Board has brought to fore a vision and taken up the responsibility to give the right direction to the state in the field of energy. He created a roadmap for energy development by splitting the power company into Mahanirmiti, Mahapareshan and Mahavitaran. Major work was done to set up 6000 MW projects and to build electrical infrastructure.

2005

Maharashtra became the first state to give women an equal share in the ancestral wealth
An important and far-reaching amendment to Section 6 of the Hindu Heritage Act was made by the Central Government on September 9, 2005. The amendment was first approved by the Government of Maharashtra on 22nd June 1994 when Hon'ble Pawar saheb was the Chief Minister of Maharashtra. His vision finally became a reality and was recognized nationwide.

2005
Dance Bar Ban
While the society was recovering from the decline of social and moral signals due to the rapid pace of urbanization and industrialization, the expansion of the service sector had pushed up the prices of lands adjacent to cities. It created instant wealth for the poor farming families, but the dance bars threatened to erode that wealth. New questions of morality arose in the neo-urban and adjoining rural areas. To prevent the adverse effects of this social transition, the Mumbai Police Act 1951 was amended by then NCP leader and then Home Minister Late Shri. R. R. Patil. He brought the dance bar ban into reality. This decision saved millions of families. R.R. Patil was seen as a protector of devastated families and culture, and women in Maharashtra began to regard him as a brotherly saviour.

An important decision was taken on 22nd June 2006 to reimburse 75% to 93% of the amount from the water bill to financially empower the organisations using water. Maharashtra became the first state in the country to reimburse such a large amount on the water bill collected by water users.

2006
As per the guidelines of the Central Planning Commission, NCP made provision in the budget for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes as well as Tribal Development in proportion to their population. Maharashtra became the first state in the country to do so.

Mahatma Gandhi Dispute Free Village Campaign

The Tantamukta Gaon Abhiyan based on Mahatma Gandhi's concept of Gram Swarajya was widely welcomed in rural areas. Social as well as family tensions were on the rise in rural areas due to the rapid pace of urbanization, disintegration of the society and fluctuating economy. This was eroding the framework of the original village carts. The Tantamukta Gaon Abhiyan turned out to be a great help in stabilizing rural life.

Eco Village concept for environmental protection and growth
On the occasion of the golden jubilee year of the formation of the state of Maharashtra, a village upliftment campaign was launched to bring about sustainable village development in the state. An important principle in the concept of sustainable rural development was to use natural resources in a balanced manner while creating high-quality facilities in the village. The need of the hour was to create a prosperous village by conserving, preserving and protecting the environment. Eco Village concept helped in achieving this purpose largely.

2010
Samadhi of Sant Gajanan Maharaj at Shegaon
On the occasion of the centenary of the Saint Gajanan Maharaj's Samadhi, a plan of Rs. 250 crores were sanctioned for the development of Shegaon and funds were also allotted for the development of the Gajanan Maharaj temple.

Radical and positive decisions for women empowerment
With the guidelines of Pawar Saheb, the party initiated an innovative decision in Maharashtra. State government increased reservation for women in local bodies from 33 per cent to 50 per cent.
Maharashtra was also the first state in the country to successfully convict the culprits under the Pregnancy and Prenatal Diagnosis Act.
Maharashtra also has the highest number of women police in the country and became the first state to recruit 2500 girls as line women in MSEDCL.
During NCP's tenure, Maharashtra became known as a far-sighted state for women empowerment.

2011
Appropriate efforts were made to solve the water problem of Marathwada by constructing 11 barrages on Godavari river and its tributaries to use the water under the Jayakwadi dam and to stop the flow of water. Besides, two more barrages were added at Balegaon and Parbhani Tarugavan in Nanded.

Ban on Gutkha
The young generation in Maharashtra was addicted to Gutkha, Pan masala and similar substances. This addictiveness had created serious health issues among the younger generation. Hence, the decision to ban gutkha is state was strongly implemented by the NCP.

Reservation of Maratha and Muslim communities

The NCP and its allies decided to give 16 per cent reservation in education and jobs to the Maratha community (educationally, socially backward class) and 5 per cent to the Muslim community (Maharashtra State Backward Class-A) and issued its ordinance on 24 July 2014.

The Loan Waiver movement
After a severe drought in Marathwada and Vidarbha, the NCP staged a prison-wide agitation at the taluka and district level for the agricultural loan waiver. The demand was to forego the entire farm debt and allow farmers to get new loans. Pawar Saheb led the grand farmers' march for loan waiver in Osmanabad.

During the Legislative Assembly Session, the MLAs of the party continuously raised this issue and closed the proceedings for a few days. There was a lot of debate in the House over this question. The membership of 19 MLAs of the Opposition was suspended. Therefore, the MLAs of all the Opposition parties stopped going to the House and a Protest March was held by the party all over Maharashtra from Chanda to Banda. However, the BJP coalition government did not grant full loan waiver to the farmers.
Compensation in case of cotton bollworm
In 2016-17, BT cotton growers suffered huge losses due to cotton bollworm. The Nationalist Congress Party had been agitating for their compensation. During this period, The Nationalist Congress Party staged agitations to get compensation for cotton growers. The issue was also raised in the assembly sessions. But the government did not show any mercy, the farmers were not compensated a single penny by the Fadanvis government.

2017
Movement for the milk price hike
For several days, milk-producing farmers were demanding a hike in milk prices. But the government was not responding to their demand. The agitation of the farmers simmered and as a result, they poured milk on the streets. NCP came forward in support of the milk producers and joined the agitation. This agitation was fruitful and the government has now increased the price of cow's milk by Rs 5 per litre. According to farmers, assuming a production cost plus 50 per cent profit, milk should fetch Rs. 35 per litre. Because the production cost of milk was Rs. 23 per litre. Hence the milk business had become unaffordable for the farmers. Therefore, to increase milk prices, NCP started an agitation in various places.

2017
Farmers strike
The farmers went on strike twice in the year 2017. Their prime demands were fair prices for their goods, implementation of the Swaminathan Committee's recommendations, increase in milk prices etc. For the first time in the history of country and Maharashtra, the farmers had gone on strike. Farmers stopped the production and refused to sell their products in the market. Many farmers threw their goods on-road or they distributed it free to the poor. NCP justified demands of farmers' and openly supported their strike. Pawar saheb held a press conference and made it clear that NCP was on farmer's side. Party also participated in the farmers' strike. So, the government had no choice but to negotiate with the communicators and agree to some of the demands.

2017
The party stood behind the co-operative banks

Most of the farmers keep their money in the co-operative banks. After the cancellation of 500 and 1000 Rs currency notes, the government refused to accept money from various district co-operative banks. As a result, these banks and farmers were in trouble. Pawar Saheb consistently raised his voice against this issue in the Centre. He had frequent meetings with the Hon'ble Prime Minister, Finance Minister and the Governor of the Reserve Bank. On the occasions, He appealed to the court in consultation with some good lawyers. Due to Pawar Saheb's persistence in raising this issue, the government finally accepted huge sums of money. So, a lot of money was accepted. Co-operative banks were greatly relieved. NCP also demanded compensation for the banks and farmers.

Anti-inflation front

Prices of all essential commodities skyrocketed during the tenure of BJP-Sena coalition government. Petrol-diesel prices had reached a record high. Maharashtra had the highest rates compared to other states in the country. The state government imposed 45% excise duty, Therefore, petrol, which was supposed to be available at Rs 40 per litre and diesel at Rs 30 per litter, went beyond Rs 70 and Rs 80 per litre, respectively. As a result, the prices of all commodities went up. During the festive season and Diwali, the price of pulses went up to Rs 150-250. A gas cylinder's price went up from Rs 450 to Rs 850. The BJP had promised to curb inflation before coming to power. Bur central government completely failed to fulfil this promise. The lives of common people were affected drastically by the government's failure to curb inflation. Hence, NCP and especially the women's wing of the party staged continuous anti-government agitations all over the state. They attacked the government through rallies and statements.

2018
Issues of sugar factories

The co-operative and private sugar factories have produced a large quantity of sugar and the big question before them was how to sell this sugar. Pawar Saheb had a meeting with the Honourable Prime Minister to cater to this issue. He resolved this problem by asking the Central Government to provide subsidy for the export of sugar. He also asked the government to increase the buffer stock of sugar and increase the base price of sugarcane. He also forced the government to provide a package of Rs 5,000 crore for sugar factories.
Halla Bol movement
NCP Started the Halla Bol movement from Vidarbha in December 2018. This agitation received a huge response from the farmers and especially the youth. An anti-government atmosphere was created across the state. Farmers, Labourers, traders, students from all walks of life began to surround the government with problems in the state. People started asking questions to then Chief Minister Shri Devendra Fadanvis. The government had to bow to public pressure and a loan waiver of up to Rs 1.5 lakh was announced. But Shri Fadanvis and his government imposed many oppressive conditions and rules so that no one could get it. Loan waiver applications were asked to be filled online. Farmers from rural areas found these regulations extremely difficult and unjust. So, NCP had continued its struggle against this. NCP took a stand that it will not rest until it gets a complete debt waiver for farmers and 7/12 extract becomes empty.

2018
Save the Constitution Movement
The BJP government devised a cunning ploy to throw away the secular and democratic values and trample on the constitution drafted by honourable Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. BJP government deliberately started taking steps in that direction. To defend the Constitution ad constitutional values, Pawar Saheb took the initiative to hold all-party protests and rallies near the Gateway of India in Mumbai.

The National President of the Nationalist Women's Congress, Smt. Fauzia Khan took the initiative to hold the Women's Constitution Defence Councils in New Delhi and Mumbai. Honourable Pawar Saheb attended both these conferences and exposed the misdeeds of the government.

Shivswarajya Yatra

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the deity of Maharashtra created a Kingdom of ryots. NCP started Shivswarajya Yatra to establish Surajya of the people as intended by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. NCP created the charter of this new Shivswarajya and made it an effective tool to spread awareness. Shivswarajya Yatra garnered a huge response from all over Maharashtra.