Minister for Finance and Planning Sudhir Mungantiwar on Wednesday informed that the state government’s hilly region development program has received Rs 31.35 crores have been disbursement aiming that these regions can meet the expenses for four months from April to July 2019.
Stating that the government resolution (GR) in this regard has been issued by the planning department, Mungantiwar said that provision of Rs 95 crores was made in the state budget for the development of hilly regions for the financial year 2019-20. He said that out of this provision, this fund was made available for the hilly region.
The minister also said that the development program in the hilly areas — Thane, Palghar, Raigad, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Pune, Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur, Aurangabad, Beed, Nanded, Hingoli, Nashik, Dhule, Jalgaon, Ahmednagar, Nandurbar, Amravati, Akola, Buldhana, and Yavatmal districts — would receive a boost with this fund. This money would have to be spent by adhering to prescribed terms and conditions. The GR was issued by the planning department on Wednesday.
On the other hand, the monsoon session of Maharashtra legislature will kick start on June 17 and the budget will be tabled on June 18. After a remarkable win in the recently concluded Lok Sabah polls and keeping eyes stuck on the upcoming state assembly polls while this is going to be the last budget session before the poll arrives, the budget session is expected to see maximum populist schemes. Maharashtra Assembly elections are scheduled to be held in October this year.
Besides the government’s decision to allot money for the hilly regions that were announced in the last interim budget earlier this year and which reportedly got implemented recently, the monsoon session budget likely to have schemes favouring infrastructure development and farmers incentive.
With delayed monsoons and depleting surface and groundwater levels resulting in drought-like conditions in most parts of the country especially in Maharashtra, and the apparent failure of Jalayukt Shivar scheme, the eyes are also on the recently included Jalshakti Ministry in the central government. Budget allocation towards resolving water woes in the state will also be a significant point this time. Jalshakti Ministry is one of the manifesto promises of the ruling party that became a reality on the very day of the oath-taking ceremony of the present government.
The new Jalshakti Ministry is a conglomerate of erstwhile Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation and the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, and the charge of this ministry has gone to Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.
The Maharashtra government had presented an interim budget with an estimated revenue deficit of Rs 19,784 crore in February this year.
The Monsoon session will be three weeks long and there will be 15 working days. The last day of the sessions is on July 5. While June 19 and June 20 have been kept for discussion on governor’s address to both the Houses that will take place on the first day of the session, discussion on the budget will take place between June 21 and June 24. Supplementary demands will be debated on June 27.
Last year, the Monsoon session was held in Nagpur, the second capital of Maharashtra. All eyes will be on the election of deputy chairman of the Legislative Council and appointment of the Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly.
The post of the Deputy Chairman has been lying vacant since the term of Congress leader Manikrao Thakre came to end.
The post of the Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly fell vacant after incumbent Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil of Congress resigned during the Lok Sabha elections.
