Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis-led government Monday pledged to make Maharashtra drought-free by 2019. Governor C Vidyasagar Rao addressed the joint session of the state legislature outlining the policies undertaken for expediting the state’s Make in Maharashtra mission. The emphasis was clearly on drought and water resources programmes to address the farm crisis in the state. The Budget Session began on a noisy note as Congress-NCP members staged a demonstration at the entrance of Vidhan Bhavan to highlight problems of farmers, killing of Communist leader Govind Pansare and non-implementation of Muslim reservation in education. The elected members of the Opposition also raised slogans inside the central hall when Governor Rao was addressing the joint session. Overall, it seems the Shiv Sena-BJP government has tried to stick to the promises it made before coming to power in the state, as basic reforms in key areas including health, education, urban development and social justice found mention in the address. Rao said: “The financial package for drought and hailstorm-hit farmers is higher than the norms of the national disaster response force.” Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Swachh Bharat campaign found a prominent mention in the address, with the government planning to build 15 lakh toilets in rural areas and 8 lakh in urban areas. To tackle water crisis, it talked of 44,000 new wells in the next two years. Apart from several measures in power sector, MAHAGENCO will increase its electricity generation to 3,230 MW by 2016. Budget for construction of infrastructure for 46,463 anganwadis in rural Maharashtra is also high on the government’s agenda. Apart from the smart cities project, higher floor space index to boost industrial sector, slum rehabilitation projects in Mumbai and tourism are accorded high priorities.
