Rs 6,000 crore meant for Vidarbha were diverted: CM

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today claimed that the previous Congress-NCP government deprived Vidarbha region of over Rs 6,000 crore of development funds despite the directives from the Governor.
Replying to a marathon debate on developmental issues of Vidarbha in the Legislative Assembly here, Fadnavis said these funds were diverted to other parts of state and thus the developmental activities in the region suffered badly.
As much as Rs 3,444 crore and Rs 3,621 crore were given additionally to other regions in 2009-10 and 2010-11 respectively while non-plan expenditure funds Rs 4,214 crore too were diverted to other regions, he said.

It was an irony that the previous government did not implement its own orders in this regard, said Fadnavis, who himself hails from Nagpur in Vidarbha and had backed the idea of separate Vidarbha state when in the opposition.
Had Vidarbha not become part of Maharashtra in 1960, the state would have lost Mumbai to Gujarat, he claimed.
Posts of tehsildars, deputy collectors and additional collectors in Amravati division of Vidarbha were lying vacant, which hampered the land acquisition for irrigation projects, he said, adding that his government had filled all these posts now, giving a fillip to the irrigation projects.

As many as 102 irrigation projects in Akola, Washim and Buldana districts will be completed by June next year, bringing 2.36 lakh hectares under irrigation, he said. The irrigation projects where fifty per cent of allocated funds have already been spent would get priority in completion within 2-3 years, he added.
As many as 132 private water bodies in Vidarbha would be desilted, he said. Gosikhurd irrigation project had made a significant progress and rehabilitation of some of the villages will be complete by March 2015, he announced.