Maharashtra CM seeks Rs 10,684 crore central funds for state's agricultural projects

MUMBAI: Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has demanded Rs 10,684 crore assistance from the centre government for executing various agricultural projects in the state.
In the governing council meeting of NITI aayog with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Fadnavis submitted a vision document for the Maharashtra with the key focus being the agriculture sector.
The state government aims to double the farmers income in the state by 2020 and for which it has devised several schemes for the farmers, which includes giving subsidised farm inputs like seeds, fertilisers and also mechanized equipments.There are 107 schemes included in the list which has to be executed.
Of the total assistance sought, Rs 7,100 crore is being sought for the 14 suicide prone districts like Marathwada and Vidarbha in the state. Rs 3,500 crore is required for irrigation projects in drought affected areas in the state.
The state government is also looking at starting agricultural processing units to encourage self-sufficient farming.
Fadnavis also demanded Rs 3,390 crore as compensation to municipal local bodies for their revenue loss due to the introduction of Goods and Service Tax (GST).
“The meeting was a review of all the major issues in which the Centre can help the states. The CM presented several key sectors in which investments and assistance will be required,” said an official. Besides agriculture, IT and industries are some of the sectors in which Maharashtra is leading and could do better with some assistance, said an official.
There has also been a mounting pressure on the state government to declare a loan waiver, Fadnavis has been resisting the announcement by saying that it will require Rs 30,500 crore which the government cannot fund.