Maharashtra to get Rs 500 cr from Nabard for new godowns

Using this amount, a total of 584 new godowns will be constructed after which the storage capacity in the state will increase up to six lakh metric tonnes, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Anil Deshmukh told reporters here.

At present, government-run godowns have storage capacity of up to 5.30 lakh metric tonnes and this needs to be increased up to 12 lakh metric tonnes, he said.

The state budget for 2012-13 has made provisions of Rs 40 crore for setting up 75 godowns to create 65,000 metric tonne storage capacity, the minister said.

Deshmukh also said his department would undertake a drive to fix the number of eligible beneficiaries of kerosene through PDS in view of the growing number of cooking gas connections.