Rs 1,200 cr rehabilitation package for Gosikhurd oustees

Maharashtra Cabinet today approved a Rs 1,199.60 crore package for rehabilitation and resettlement of those affected by Gosikhurd irrigation project in Vidarbha region.
Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, who recently visited the dam site and heard grievances of the project affected people, chaired the Cabinet meet.
As per the package, Rs 2 lakh per hectare would be given to 25,246 farmers and 3,363 landless farm labourers, an official statement said. The package also includes component for building houses and cattle sheds.
The state government hopes that the package would remove the final hurdle in way of completion of the state's biggest irrigation dam project, for which the ground-breaking ceremony was held in April 1988 in presence of then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and then CM Shankarrao Chavan.

Issues like environmental clearances, forest laws, funds crunch and failure to implement rehabilitation of the affected persons have led to delays in project completion.
In 2009, it was accorded a national project status with 90 per cent of its funding now coming from Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme of the Union government.