Maharashtra state cabinet on Thursday gave nod to carrying out government banking transactions through the state cooperative bank. The cabinet also cleared a cluster housing project in Thane for affordable housing; decided to pay for interest on loans to support the cotton spinning mills for next five years; amend the labour laws to help construction labourers get benefit of welfare schemes; bring in a new policy to have parity among the schemes of institutions like Barti, Sarthi, MahaJyot and Amrut and form 4 new posts of Charity Dy Commissioner.
The cabinet, headed by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, at its meeting on Thursday allowed state government offices to carry out transactions with the Maharashtra State Cooperative (MSC) Bank and also approved investments to be done by state government public sector undertakings (PSUs) in the bank. The approvals were given on the basis of the bank's role in the cooperative sector. Auditors have graded the bank in the 'A' category, and no restrictions have been imposed on it by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), a CMO officer said after the cabinet meeting.
Cluster redevelopment scheme in Thane
Among other major decisions the state government approved a cluster redevelopment scheme in Thane city via Mahatma Phule Renewable Energy and Infrastructure Technology Limited (MahaPreit), an associate company of the Mahatma Phule SC development Corporation that ventures into renewable energy and infrastructure technology. The Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) had entered into an agreement with MahaPreit to develop part of the hilly bungalow, Hazuri and Kisannagar clusters a couple of months back.
The state cabinet approved this low-cost mass-housing project under the urban revitalization plan. The state cabinet also approved the 1320 MW power project based on supercritical technology at Koradi near Nagpur. The new power project is being constructed in place of the 1250 MW old units that are being phased out. The cabinet approved expenditure of Rs10,625 for the project. The state government will be contributing Rs2,125 crore as capital over next five years, while the remaining 80 percent will be raised by MahaGenco from banks and other institutions.
The state cabinet also decided to continue with the scheme to pay the interest on loans taken by the cooperative spinning mills in the state to help the textile sector. The state government had launched the scheme where the state government paid interest on loans availed by cooperative spinning mills from the financial institutions and the national cooperative development corporation.
Amendments to rules to decide beneficiaries of various welfare schemes
Today the cabinet approved a proposal to extend the scheme for five more years with a few modifications. As per the decision, the scheme will be applicable only for the new loans to the cooperative mills for a period of up to five years. The state cabinet, on Thursday, also approved amendments to the rules to decide beneficiaries under various welfare schemes for building and other construction workers.
The state cabinet also decided to bring parity among the schemes of institutions like Barti, Sarthi, MahaJyot and Amrut. The Tribal Research and Training Institute (TRTI), Babasaheb Ambedkar Research and Training Institute (BARTI), Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj Research and Training Institute (SARTHI), Mahatma Phule Research and Training Institute (MahaJyot) and Maharashtra Research and Training Institute (AMRUT) are institutions started by the state government for various sections and communities in the state.
Nod to new veterinary college in Ahmednagar
The cabinet also gave nod to set up a new veterinary degree college in Ahmednagar district and also create four new posts of Charity Deputy Commissioners at Nashik, Pune, Nagpur and Nanded.
