Maharashtra cabinet meet on irrigation projects funding

The state Cabinet will meet on Wednesday to discuss allocation of the Rs 1,500 crore loan, that the government is set to receive from the Life Insurance Corporation of India, to complete several irrigation projects, especially those pending by the Maharashtra Krishna Valley Irrigation Development Corporation.

Confirming this, a senior government official said, "This is one of the several proposals that are on the agenda of discussions slated for the cabinet meeting slated for tomorrow."

Meanwhile, the state government on Tuesday cleared a slew of proposals, including a Rs 300 crore loan package for co-operative sugar factories. The sugar co-operatives will be charged only half the interest rate, while the rest will be borne by the state.

Each co-operative will get the loan amount at a rate of Rs 50 per every quintal of sugar produced by them during the financial year 2002-2003.

The move is aimed at enabling the co-operatives to pay sugarcane cultivators the minimum support price (MSP) of the cane as notified by the Union government. Most co-operatives in the state have not been able to pay the cultivators at MSP.

The government has also cleared two separate financial packages for the Khandesh region and for the drought-affected and hilly areas.

The Khandesh region, which comprises Nashik, Nandurban, Dhule, Ahmednagar and Jalgaon, will get Rs 288 crore to fund irrigation projects, road development projects, and revival packages for ailing industries.

The drought-affected and hilly regions of Sholapur, Ahmednagar, Pune, Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur and Nashik will get Rs Rs 452.56 crore.