Give Rs 10k cr relief to Vidarbha immediately: NCP MLC

NCP MLC Prakash Gajbhiye from Maharashtra's Vidarbha on Tuesday demanded a Rs 10,000 crore package for the region claiming it has a development backlog ten times the figure.

He said faulty government policies had caused farmer suicides in Vidarbha, adding that figures of deaths here due to agriculture distress was the highest in the country.

In a press note, Gajbhiye said farmers were once again a harried lot due to unseasonal rains causing heavy crop loss.

"The development backlog of Vidarbha is over Rs 1 lakh crore. Farm loans are increasing by the day. Vidarbha has been neglected for the past five years. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis should immediately release Rs 10,000 crore as financial package for the region," he said.

He said 20 per cent of this amount should be given to cotton procurement corporations in Nagpur, Gondia, Bhandara, Yavatmal, Washim, Akola, Wardha, Gadchiroli, Chandrapur, Buldhana and Amravati to make purchases from farmers.