Representational file image.
A worker receives a cash payment as he fills fuel into a vehicle at a petrol pump following the hike in petrol and diesel prices, in Nagpur. File.
| Photo Credit: ANI
The Opposition Congress and NCP (SP) on Wednesday (May 20, 2026) attacked the Maharashtra government over reports of fuel shortages in parts of the State and asked if "even the oil in the engines of the double-engine government has run out".Congress Legislature Party leader Vijay Wadettiwar and NCP (SP) MLA Jayant Patil cited incidents where a police vehicle sent to search for a missing girl in Nagpur apparently did not have diesel, and attack on a petrol pump worker in Jalgaon over alleged fuel shortage.People in the State were facing a lack of security and fuel shortage, while taxpayer-funded advertising hoardings continued to shine ahead of elections, Mr. Wadettiwar claimed.Amid the ongoing West Asia crisis, the central government has maintained that there is no shortage of petrol, diesel or LPG.Former State minister Patil, in a post on X, said, "In Jalgaon, some unidentified persons stabbed a petrol pump worker in the stomach after being told there was no petrol. In Buldhana district, people stood in queues for 12 hours hoping to get petrol."
At Washim Naka, there were fights over petrol and diesel. In Nagpur, police do not have diesel (for their vehicles) to search for a missing girl, the former State NCP (SP) chief claimed."What exactly is going on? Has even the oil in the engines of the double-engine government run out?" Mr. Patil asked.The ruling alliance commonly uses the term ‘double-engine government’ to describe its party being in power simultaneously at the Centre and in a State.Referring to the incidents mentioned by Mr. Patil, Mr. Wadettiwar claimed Maharashtra was facing a complete administrative breakdown amid the ongoing fuel shortage, and that the BJP-led "triple-engine government" (referring to its rule at the Centre, in the state and local bodies) had come to a standstill.A petrol pump employee was attacked over fuel in Jalgaon, a man was left stranded in the scorching sun for 12 hours in Buldhana, and in Akola, a common citizen risked his life to obtain fuel, he said in a post on X."The worst part is that in Nagpur, even a police vehicle sent to search for a missing girl did not have diesel," he said.Mr. Wadettiwar said the situation exposed what he described as the hollowness of the BJP's claims of building a "Viksit Bharat" (Developed India)."For years, they have boasted about a double-engine government, but today not even one engine is functioning," he quipped."Ordinary people are struggling for every drop of petrol and for their right to live, while the rulers in Delhi are busy singing false praises of 'Amrit Kaal'," he charged.Today, Maharashtra has no government; what remains is only a marketplace of advertisements," Mr. Wadettiwar said, accusing those in power of ignoring public anger and distress. Published - May 20, 2026 01:33 pm IST
Representational file image.
| Photo Credit: EMMANUAL YOGINI
National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM) has completed the documentation and Ground-truthing of Maharashtra’s 23,415 wetlands, paving the way to formally notify and bring the water bodies under legal protection under the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules.According to the Maharashtra wetlands dashboard maintained by the NCSCM data, Chattrapati Sambhaji Nagar and Nagpur division has the highest wetlands in Maharashtra, with 5,196 and 5,086 wetlands respectively. The Ahmednagar district has the highest number of wetlands in the State at 1,596, followed by Nashik with 1,236 and Chandrapur which has 1,231. The wetlands documented also includes 247 in Thane, 1,093 in Raigad, 37 in Mumbai city and 210 in Mumbai suburban districts.Maharashtra government tasked NCSCM, functioning under the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) to do satellite mapping, documentation and field verification of wetlands identified under the National Wetlands Inventory and Assessment launched by the Centre nearly two decades ago.Ground-truthing for 11 wetlands located in Pune among the 2,3415 is remaining. Ground-truthing means the process of physical verification of wetlands on site to confirm their existence, boundaries, ecological condition and present land use against satellite imagery — a crucial step before wetlands can be officially notified under environmental protection laws.The wetlands play role in flood buffering, groundwater recharge, carbon sequestration and biodiversity conservation. They also act as natural sponges during extreme rainfall events — a role that has become increasingly important amid changing climate patterns and recurring urban floods.The MoEFCC launched the decadal-change version of the National Wetland Atlas in 2020 to track changes in wetlands over time, but Maharashtra’s ground-truthing exercise continued to lag for years thereafter. The Maharashtra exercise gathered momentum following legal interventions by Vanashakti and subsequent Supreme Court directions asking States and Union Territories to complete wetland demarcation and verification in a time-bound manner.According to the Environmental groups, it is a critical step as this will prevent wetlands, which are not officially notified from becoming a dumping yard. The un-notified wetlands are treated as reclamation, debris dumping, encroachments and destruction in the name of infrastructure development.“This process should not have taken 16 years after the National Wetland Atlas was launched,” said B.N. Kumar, director of NatConnect Foundation. He also pointed out that the prolonged delay has already caused considerable damage to Maharashtra’s wetland ecosystem, particularly in biodiversity-rich areas of Uran and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. “The burial of wetlands in Uran has already triggered unseasonal flooding and compensation payouts worth crores from taxpayers’ money. This could have been avoided had the authorities acted in time to preserve these natural drainage systems,“ said Nandakumar Pawar, director of Sagarshakti. Published - May 20, 2026 10:25 am IST
State verifies 23,000 wetlands Newsband
Maharashtra completes physical verification of 23,000 wetlands ThePrint
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