The Maharashtra government on Friday presented its fourth Budget on Friday in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, focusing on benefits for farmers. Six days have been earmarked for discussion on Budget 2018-’19.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led government said it will allocate Rs 1,500 crore for Jalyukt Shivar scheme to make villages drought-free. In his Budget speech, Maharashtra Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar said the state had implemented a crop loan waiver scheme called the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Shetkari Sanman Yojana. More than Rs 13,000 crore has been released under this scheme, which has benefitted nearly 35.68 lakh farmers, he said.
The government will spend Rs 750 crore to ensure regular power supply for agricultural water pumps, he said. Under the Pradhan Mantri Sinchai Yojana, the government will spend Rs 3,015 crore on completing 26 major irrigation projects.
Agricultural Produce Mortgage Scheme will be implemented across the state, the government said.
Education
The government has allotted Rs 605 crore for raising the annual family income cap of educational freeships for students to Rs 8 lakh from Rs 6 lakh. About Rs 50 crore will be spent to set up centres in all districts that will train students for national competitive exams.
The government has doubled the scholarships meant for students of the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and Other Backward Classes from Rs 2,000 to Rs 8,000.
The finance minister said six skill developmental universities will be set up. The aid to Annasaheb Patil Arthik Vikas Mahamandal has been increased from Rs 50 crore to Rs 400 crore to encourage entrepreneurship.
Around Rs 5,000 crore will be budgeted to help 10,000 start ups till 2022.
Security
The Budget allocated Rs 13,385 crore for the home department. The funds will be used to modernise and upgrade the state police force, the finance minister said. Around Rs 165 crore out of the total allotted to the home department will be spent to establish a state-wide CCTV surveillance network. All police stations will have CCTV cameras, the minister said, adding that a new system will be established to manage complaints at various police stations. The marine police will get two new patrol vessels.
Transport
The Mumbai Urban Transport Project-3 will be funded with the help of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority and the City and Industrial Development Corporation. The government said the work on the 701-km Mumbai-Nagpur Expressway will start in April and is expected to complete in three years. Around 64% of the land has already been acquired for the purpose.
A provision of Rs 100 crore has been made for the upgradation of the Nagpur airport, the government said, adding that Rs 40 crore has been proposed to modernise bus depots. Around Rs 7,500 crore has been approved for the Bandra-Versova sea link.
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