Mumbai: The state cabinet on Saturday cleared a development package worth Rs59,000 crore for the Marathwada region, at a special meeting at Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar to mark the 75th Marathwada liberation day.
“A package of Rs45,000 crore will be given for the development of the Marathwada region, while revised administrative approvals worth Rs14,000 crore will be given to irrigation projects in the region that paves the way for bringing eight lakh hectares of land under irrigation,” Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said at a press conference that was also attended by Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar.
Packages announced
The Marathwada region includes the eight districts of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (previously known as Aurangabad), Dharashiv (previously known as Osmanabad), Jalna, Beed, Latur, Nanded, Hingoli and Parbhani.
As much as Rs485 crore has been sanctioned for setting up a medical college at Hingoli, as part of the package, while dedicated land will be made available for the medical college in Parbhani, an official said.
A conservation project for “red kandhari” and “devni” cows will be set up in Ambajogai in Beed, while Marathwada will get an additional provision of Rs1,076 crore for works associated with progress and empowerment of women, the official said. This is expected to benefit more than 12 lakh women of the region, he said.
“Schools in the state can be adopted now and this will improve the quality of education. A civil court has been sanctioned in Sillod in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. Agricultural colleges will be set up in Nanded, Soyegaon and Parli in Beed,” he said.
Parli will also have a soybean research centre, while a new ITI incubation centre will come up in Jalna at a cost of Rs10 crore, the official said.
Of the 31 developmental works announced for Marathwada in 2016, 23 have been implemented, Fadnavis said.
Earlier in the day, Shinde inaugurated several development works of the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation as part of the “Amrit Mahotsav of Marathwada’s Liberation War”. The government has granted top priority for sustainable development of Marathwada region, he said at the programme.
“To overcome the drought situation in Marathwada, work is being done to divert the water of rivers through the water grid project in collaboration with the central government. The central government stands firmly with Maharashtra and substantial provisions have been made by the Union government for the development of the entire state,” Shinde said.
The Chief Minister reiterated that the government stood firmly behind farmers. “Along with finding a permanent solution to the problem arising from irregular rainfall in Marathwada through water conservation projects, emphasis is being placed on creating irrigation grids, small chain dams, recommending environmentally friendly crops, creating cold storage facilities and providing value adds for agricultural produce,” he said.
“Phase 2 of the Jalyukta Shivar Abhiyan, which guarantees sustainable irrigation, is being effectively implemented too. Special concessions are being given to the industry to set up a base in Marathwada in order to boost the agro-processing industry. We are keen to promote Marathwada region as an education and medical hub,” he said.
Meanwhile, Shinde rubbished allegations levelled by some opposition leaders that the Chief Minister, his deputies and ministers were staying in five-star hotels while in the city for the cabinet meeting. “All of us are staying in the government guest house,” he clarified.
