Cabinet okays Hudco loan of ₹2,000 cr for projects in Sambhajinagar, Nagpur

The Maharashtra cabinet on Tuesday cleared a approval to raise Rs 2,000 crore from the Housing and Urban Development Corporation Ltd (Hudco) under the Urban Infrastructure Development Loan Scheme to help municipal bodies mobilise matching funds for infrastructure projects.

The decision will enable Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation to access Rs 822.22 crore for a water supply project, Nagpur Metropolitan Region Development Authority to raise Rs 268.84 crore for four sewage treatment projects, and Mira-Bhayandar Municipal Corporation to get Rs 116.28 crore for a water supply project. The scheme is designed to ensure that projects under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) 2.0, Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0, Maharashtra Suvarna Jayanti Nagarothhan Maha Abhiyan and other state/central initiatives do not stall due to lack of funds. Repair funds for two minor irrigation projects in Murtizapur taluka of Akola district were sanctioned in the cabinet, the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said in a statement.

Repairs worth Rs 4.76 crore have been approved for the Ghongha micro-irrigation project in Akola district, completed in 1986. It is expected to create 35,000 cubic metres of additional water storage and 45 hectares of irrigation capacity over its original 1,550 cubic metres storage and 350 hectares irrigation capacity, it said.

Similarly, the Kanadi micro-irrigation project in Akola completed in 1977, will undergo repairs costing Rs 4.92 crore, which is expected to add 38,000 cubic metres storage and 46 hectares irrigation capacity over its original 1,700 cubic metres storage and 286 hectares irrigation capacity. The cabinet approved allotment of four hectares of government grazing land at Asudgaon in Panvel taluka, of Raigad district, to the Subsidiary Intelligence Bureau under the Union Home Ministry. The land will be allotted at 50 per cent of the ready reckoner rate under Occupant Class-2 with possession rights. It will be used to build residential quarters for officers and staff of the agency's Mumbai division. The allotment is subject to certain terms and conditions.