'Aarogya Aplya Daari To Conservation Of Forts': On Balasaheb Thackeray's Centenary Birthday, Deputy CM Eknath Shinde Announces Welfare Schemes Worth Hundreds Of Crores

Mumbai: To mark the birth centenary of Balasaheb Thackeray, on Friday, 23rd of January 2026, the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra and Shiv Sena Party President Eknath Shinde announced a series of welfare programmes for the people of the state.  

Shinde currently leads the Shiv Sena faction that broke off from the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena in June of 2022. This faction later formed the government with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), where Shinde was then made the Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

Eknath Shinde paid homage to Balasaheb Thackeray’s statue in Colaba before addressing the media at Balasaheb Bhavan near Mantralaya. Shinde goes on to recount his political journey from a Shakha Pramukh (branch head) to the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, while reasserting that his faction is the real Shiv Sena.

Welfare Schemes Announced:

In his 42-minute address to the press conference, Shinde announced the launch of Aarogya Aplya Daari (Health at your doorstep), which will be implemented by the urban local bodies in line with the state government’s Shaasan Aplya Daari (Government at Your Doorstep) initiative. The key focus of this programme would be large-scale drives to detect juvenile diabetes and cervical and breast cancer early.

Furthermore, he announced strengthening the zero-prescription treatment scheme at Mumbai’s civic body hospitals by allocating additional funds to the scheme.

The Deputy CM also announced the conservation project of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s Forts, which would be undertaken by the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB). Through this scheme, facilities such as RO drinking water would be introduced, and cleanliness drives would take place, he said, further adding that the NGOs involved in the cleaning activity would be paid an honorarium of Rs. 1 lakh each.

Shide also said 394 municipal councils will receive Rs. 1 crore each, while 29 municipal corporations will get Rs. 3 crore each through the proposed Nagari Lok Kalyan Abhiyan (City People Welfare Drive). The scheme will focus on upgrading schools and organising competitions centred on governance, drawing, cartoons and elocution, he said, noting that Balasaheb Thackeray placed great importance on education and healthcare.

A sum of Rs. 100 crore would be allotted to strengthening women’s self-help groups, declared Shinde, which would be spent by the urban development department, and another Rs. 100 crore would be allocated to the Marathi Language Department. He also added that as part of the centenary birthday celebrations, 10,000 women receive martial arts training from a retired army personnel.

Finally, Shinde announced that the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) will run subsidised tours to various religious destinations, with funds already allocated for the initiative. The state-run transport body functions under the transport department, which is led by Shiv Sena minister Pratap Sarnaik.

Towards the end of his address, the Deputy CM claimed that the Shiv Sena is the second-largest party in Maharashtra after the BJP, as seen in the recent local body elections. Further adding that Balasaheb’s two goals have been accomplished by PM Modi, namely the abrogation of Article 370 and the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

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