Counting assured irrigation for 6L hectares as his biggest achievement, Fadnavis, in an interview to ET, also questions authors on their inaction when a teacher’s hand was chopped off in Kerala for framing a question on Prophet MohammadThe Jalyukt Shivar scheme of water conservation. When we came to power there was a drought in 24,000 villages. This year, there is a drought in 14,000 villages. Of late, climate change has become a phenomenon… days of rainfall becoming fewer, with huge dry spells. Agriculture is not sustainable anymore. That is the problem. So we started Jalyukt Shivar. In 6,200 villages, we could carry out 1.20 lakh different works in just a span of nine months. It resulted in storage of 24 TMC (thousand million cubic feet) of water. This means assured irrigation for 6 lakh hectares. If we compare this with the last government, to create this potential they used to take five to seven years. The estimated cost would have been Rs 7,000-8,000 cr; the actual cost would have been Rs 14,000 cr. We did this in Rs 1,400 cr. This is a game changer.One is to improve agriculture. In our GDP or GSDP (gross state domestic product), agriculture has 11% share but in total employment it accounts for 45-50%, so it is no real employment. We want to lessen the burden of employment on agriculture and to move it to the industrial sector. So we are trying to focus on manufacturing. There is a huge interest generated in India and Maharashtra due to the initiatives like ease of doing business, where we have actually eased so many permissions, done certain labour reforms, done away with inspector raj, as most of the things will be done on self-certification mode. The inspectors have been given parameters and they will only have to check and submit reports on these parameters in 48 hours.In one year, we have fast-tracked projects – all the projects that were stuck for 10 to 15 years. If we talk of the Mumbai Trans Harbour Sea Link (MTHL), now most of the things have been cleared. There is only a stay by the Green Tribunal. JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) has agreed that by December this year they will finish all their studies, so that they will come to a financial closure this year. In March next year we want to take out a tender for the project. The same is the case with the coastal road. It was the dream of the ex-chief minister. Actually it was a project that was talked about 15 to 20 years ago. In our case, we went to the central government and we got the project.In three months we could invite the tenders for Metro 3. For two more metro corridors, whose foundation stone laying ceremony was laid by the PM, in four months, we created the DPR (detailed project report) and gave all the approvals. In the past, for a metro DPR to get approved it used to take two years. We are actually going at an unimaginable pace.We have asked for a special audit by CAG . After the audit, what intervention is needed can be decided. Right now we are keeping all options open.I don’t think the fares will go up till the CAG report comes in.I don’t think so. Shiv Sena is a party, they have their own ideology, they have their own ways of doing things. We always want things to be done democratically. Wherever it is needed, we have taken action. In the case of Sudheendra Kulkarni, we arrested the Sainiks who did it. In fact, we are not at all happy to give protection to any person from Pakistan because they have been hostile to us. However, diplomacy demands that if somebody comes on a diplomatic passport and you have given him a valid visa, you have to protect him. We, however, told the organisers that the platform should not be used for any anti-India activities. In the Ghulam Ali case, we wanted him to sing here and we would have provided him all the support. However, the organisers backed out.We will react only if Sena president says something.He didn’t say anything about (PM) Modi, he didn’t say anything about me or the BJP. He did not even take our name. We are two different parties; we fought elections against each other. We got a mandate against the Congress-NCP, both the parties. Even the Sena’s mandate is against the Congress-NCP. If we had got 20 seats more then there would have been a single party government and only our agenda would have prevailed, but to respect the mandate both the parties have come together. We have differences on certain issues, but to respect the mandate we will function for five years.It is all about the media space. People are least bothered, they want development, jobs. People are looking at what the government is doing. They will not look at what we are saying or what they (Sena) are saying. The speeches made by the two parties are being highlighted by the media to fill up their spaces.We have created our own land acquisition model. We are paying five times the market price of the land. In the last one year, we have never had any problem. So it is 100% consent. People are getting so much money that they are coming forward on their own to give their land. We are looking at the Tamil Nadu model and we may go for a similar model.Meat ban was a creation of the media. We never banned anything. The ban was brought in 1994 by the municipal corporation, the same was carried till 2014. In 2004, the earlier Congress-NCP government added two days to the ban. So till 2014 ever year there was a ban.It is an agenda to defame us because the decision was taken 10 or 15 years back and implemented every year. Mira-Bhayandar Municipal Corporation used to pass such resolutions banning meat every year but it was never implemented.I feel that there is a section of the media which is not ready to digest that we have come to power. Even in the section of the media there is a dominance of pseudo-seculars and they are running this campaign.I have all respect for these authors and litterateurs. However, I want to ask them a question. Something happens in Dadri ruled by the Samajwadi Party. Law and order situation is a state subject but you blame Modi for that. Both Dadri and MM Kalburgi’s murder were unfortunate and condemnable. Kalburgi’s murder happened in Karnataka and you say that Mr Modi is responsible and the freedom of speech and expression is suppressed. I just want to ask one question. Somebody pointed out to me that in Kerala a teacher who asked a question on Prophet Mohammad had his hand chopped off. No one came forward and returned the awards. Why did they not feel at that time that their voice was suppressed? Does that mean that the government at the Centre and in the state was convenient for them? You cannot have opinions of convenience. I would like to say that the moment the writers and laureates in the country start taking sides it will be more disastrous than anything else. They should create opinion, criticise government. It is their right, but they should not be part of the agenda.The fact that bitter enemies had to come together against us shows how popular BJP has become. I think the BJP will win Bihar.We will fight the polls together.As of now we are in a coalition government; this government will function till 2019.