Governor B S Koshyari in his address to both the houses of state legislature on Thursday said, despite the financial crunch due to the coronavirus pandemic, the state government managed to restart economic activities, attract industrial investments and at the same time took initiatives to protect the environment. “The state government during these hard times, strived to mitigate the sufferings of vulnerable sections of the society. Special emphasis was given to schemes providing financial benefits and food security to the people in the state. Despite the slowdown in the economy during the pandemic, my government signed 98 investment agreements under ‘Magnetic Maharashtra 2.0,” involving an investment of Rs 1,89,000 crore and creation of 3 lakh 30 thousand jobs,’’ he noted.
Though Koshyari left the Central Hall by winding up his address amid slogan shouting,it was subsequently tabled in both the houses of the state legislature on the first day of the four week Budget Session.
Against the backdrop of his controversial statement over Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the Governor in opening paragraphs said ‘’Government will continue to follow the high ideals set by exemplars such as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Mahatma Jyotirao Phule, Rajarshi Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj, Bharatratna Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, and other great visionaries and social reformers.’’
Taking a serious note of defacing of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue in Bengaluru on December 16, 2021, Koshyari said, “My government is determined to stand for the rights of Marathi speaking people of Maharashtra’s border areas and strongly condemns the incident and also the throwing of ink on the president of the Madhyavarti Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti in Belgaon. Several repressive acts of the Karnataka government against Marathi speaking people of the disputed border area are condemnable,’’ he added.
The NITI Aayog has acknowledged and appreciated the electric vehicle policy of the state government. Compared to last year, there has been an increase in electric vehicle registrations by 157 per cent. “My government has incentivized 7000 e-vehicle owners by subsiding the cost of their vehicles. Investment proposals of Rs 9,000 crore from prominent industries have been received under the e-vehicle policy, which would generate approximately 10,000 jobs,’’ he said.
Governor at length explained the slew of initiatives taken by the state government to successfully tackle the pandemic.
To adapt and mitigate the impact of climate change, the state government has established the Maharashtra Council on Climate Change under the chairmanship of Chief Minister and co-chairmanship of Deputy Chief Minister.
The state faced multiple natural disasters from Taukte cyclone to massive floods in Ratnagiri, Raigad and other areas. These claimed 461 lives and destroyed public property worth over Rs 7,360 crore. The government’s response was quick and effective and made available Rs 15,000 crore from the State Disaster Response Fund and an additional Rs 5,500 crore from the state budget. Further, the government also sanctioned a package of Rs 3,200 crore for the Konkan region to create infrastructure to protect against future natural disasters.
Ahead of the BMC elections, the Governor’s address mentioned redevelopment of BDD Chawls at Worli, NM Joshi Marg and Naigaon in Mumbai. Tenements of 500 square feet area will be allotted to approximately 15,500 tenants, who are residing in the BDD Chawl.
Further, the Governor said the state government has made amendments to the Maharashtra Official Languages Act, making the use of Marathi in all the government departments compulsory.
A state level committee and several district level committees have been established to monitor the works related to Marathi language.
