Maharashtra: CM Shinde urges World Bank to finance ambitious project on diverting flood water to drought affected areas

Mumbai: Amid rising farmers suicides and growing distress among them, the Maharashtra Chief Minister Mr Eknath Shinde on Thursday requested the World Bank to provide finance to an ambitious project to divert flood water to drought prone areas which aims to prevent farmers suicides in Vidarbha and Marathwada regions.

The CM’s appeal came at his meeting with World Bank India Director Auguste Tano Kouamé. In the meeting held today, there was a detailed discussion about Maharashtra Skill Development Project, climate change and its impact on agriculture sector, Balasaheb Thackeray Agri Business and Rural Transformation Smart Project and Electric Buses for BEST.

Strengthening the agri sector

‘’The state government has taken up an ambitious project to divert the flood waters of western Maharashtra to drought-affected areas. Drinking water and lakhs of hectares of land will be brought under irrigation through this project. This will benefit the agriculture and hence efforts will be made to prevent farmers suicides. The World Bank should cooperate for this project,’’ said Mr Shinde. 

Mr Shinde said that about 5000 villages in Marathwada and Vidarbha are benefiting under the Nanaji Deshmukh Agricultural Sanjeevani Project (POKRA) among the various schemes being run by the state government to strengthen the agriculture sector in the state. This project has received the support of the World Bank and after the success of the first phase of the project. He appealed to the World Bank to approve funding for the second phase.

Mr Shinde said  development works are going on in Maharashtra with the financial assistance of World Bank and through this it is helping in capacity building. He urged the visiting World Bank director to support the projects in various sectors of the state in a similar manner in the future.