Maharashtra to borrow Rs 15,000 cr for completing irrigation projects

The Maharashtra Cabinet on Wednesday approved a proposal to take long-term loan of Rs 15,000 crore to complete the ongoing irrigation projects.

The decision will facilitate completion of ongoing works within three years, which will create 2.90 lakh hectares of additional irrigation capacity and make available 891 million cubic meters of water storage.

At present, there are 313 under-construction irrigation projects with a total cost of Rs 93,570 crore.

The state government allots Rs 10,000 crore every year to the Water Resources Department and the attempt is to raise more funds from other sources, including assistance from the central government and loan through NABARD, to complete the projects.

The cabinet also decided to set up a committee to regulate encroachment on government lands in rural areas.

The district-level committees headed by the district collector will take a decision within 15 days over the proposals received by them. This will enable the government to implement the policy of housing for all by 2022.

The cabinet also gave its approval to allot 3.20 hectares of land in Navegaon in Gadchiroli district for a Kendriya Vidyalaya.

Similarly, under the Sanjay Gandhi Niradhar Yojana and Shravan Bal Seva Pension Scheme, the government increased the grants to widows and senior citizens respectively.

The amount for destitute beneficiaries has been increased from Rs 600 to Rs 1,000.

For widows with one child, the amount will be Rs 1,100, while those with two children will get Rs 1,200. The annual expenditure for this would be Rs 1,648 crore, the statement from the chief minister's office (CMO) said.