The main objective is time-bound progress in all sectors of Marathwada – Maha CM

Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, September 17 (IANS): Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday said the primary objective of the state government is to ensure timely progress of the Marathwada region in various sectors, including agriculture, communication, generation of employment through industrial development and infrastructure development.

“The state government has submitted a project report of Rs 15,000 crore to overcome drought in Marathwada by diverting water from rivers towards the Godavari basin, which flows into the oceans,” the chief minister said while addressing the Marathwada Mukti Sangram Din (Marathwada Liberation Day) celebrations, paying tribute to martyrs and remembering freedom fighters.

He added that the major projects include the DamanGanga (Ekdare)-Godavari (Waghad) and Damanganga-Vaitarna-Godavari (Kadwa Dev River) inter-river link scheme and also the Paar-Godavari inter-river link scheme.

The chief minister added that the government had allocated Rs 100 crore last year to commemorate the liberation struggle of Marathwada and erect a memorial at Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar.

He added that Rs 2 crore was provided to each district of Marathwada region through the District Planning Fund.

He said that for the last two-and-a-half years, the government had been taking concrete steps for the development of Marathwada region, adding that decisions were taken in the cabinet meeting last year and their implementation started immediately.

The Chief Minister said that the Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar Water Supply Scheme with an outlay of Rs 2,740 crore is one of the most important schemes. He added that work on construction of 4 lakh tubewells is underway in the Marathwada region.

He said that the emphasis is on construction of higher speed roads, adding that construction of 44 roads is being carried out with the help of NABARD. He also said that repair of roads of 1030 km is being carried out through Hybrid Annuity Scheme.

The Chief Minister said that the Kirloskar Toyota electric-Hybrid Car project with an investment of Rs 20,000 crore is under implementation at Auric City, Shendra industrial area on the outskirts of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar. The Ather Energy Company electric vehicle project with an investment of Rs 2,000 crore is under implementation on 100 acres of land at Bidkin Village.

The Chief Minister said that with the launch of Jalna-Mumbai Vande Bharat Express, Marathwada region has been connected to the capital. Development of 174 km Jalna-Jalgaon rail route has been announced, which will help Jalna and Sillod in increasing connectivity to a greater extent.

He added that the connectivity of Marathwada, northern Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and coastal Gujarat will be enhanced, thereby boosting the development of the region.