Mumbai: The Maharashtra government will push forward welfare initiatives taken up for farmers and the socially backward classes in the state, chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Wednesday, after hoisting the national flag at the state secretariat here.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led government is also committed towards the development of industries in the state, he stated.
The CM lauded the state government’s flagship water conservation scheme, which, he said, has helped in solving the water woes of people in 16,000 drought-affected villages. “Now, the government intends to provide benefits of this micro-irrigation project, called Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyan, to 25,000 more villages,” he added.
The Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyan involves deepening and widening of streams, construction of cement and earthen stop dams, and digging of farm ponds, to make the state free of drought by next year. Mr Fadnavis said the state government has “done well” in empowering marginalised sections of society and introduced various social and welfare initiatives for scheduled castes, tribes and other backward classes.
Maharashtra has been generating employment on a large scale, he said. The Employees Provident Fund Organisation figures prove that the state generated the maximum number of jobs, around eight lakh, last year.
Referring to other initiatives taken for farmers, he said the government had purchased food grains worth Rs 8,000 crore in the last three years. “The previous (UPA) government had only spent Rs 450 crore in 15 years on purchase of food grains.” he said, adding that “this proves our commitment to well-being of farmers,” he said.
