Central govt approves Maharashtra's annual plan

Central government has approved Maharashtra's annual plan of Rs 14,429 crore as against the state projection of Rs 13,000 crore, Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh informed the state assembly.

This is an indication of the positive treatment given by the Centre to Maharashtra, he said while replying to a discusssion in the assembly on the motion of thanks to governor for his address to the joint session of state legislature.

A major chunk of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Mission would also come for Mumbai and other four cities of the state, Deshmukh said. The state has planned Rs 36,000 crore for developing the five cities and kept Rs 11,000 crore for Mumbai only.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has also assured the Maharashtra government all possible financial help to develop Mumbai into financial hub and creating world class infrastructure, Deshmukh said.

The state government was also implementing various infrastructural projects under MUTP and MUIP in a war footing. The Worli-Bandra sea link project is expected to be operational latest by April 2007, Deshmukh said.