Mumbai: The State government is hopeful that its request for a special provision of ₹5,000 crore for key infrastructure projects will be met in the Union Budget 2017-18, set to be announced on February 1. The funds are for seven key railway projects and over two dozen irrigation works.
Speaking to The Hindu, Chief Secretary Swadheen Kshatriya said, “We have been coordinating with the Union Finance Ministry to convey our demands for funds for the railway and irrigation projects. We are keeping a keen eye on these two vital sectors when the Union Budget is presented on February 1.”
The State government has already fast-tracked three of the rail projects, including the ₹3,000 crore Ahmednagar-Beed-Vaijnath line and construction of tracks between Rajnandgaon and Nagpur. A major part of the requested funds for rail projects is to come from the Centre, and the rest from the State government, senior officials said.
For irrigation projects, the Central government has already approved a special assistance package of ₹35,000 crore over the next three years under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojna (PMKSY) and ongoing projects under the Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP). It is expected that funds will be diverted over three years to 199 ongoing projects in drought-affected Marathwada and Vidarbha, and double irrigated area to 126 lakh hectares from the existing 48 lakh hectares.
“We are expecting the Union Budget will make space for some of these major irrigation projects, which are under construction,” Mr. Kshatriya said.
Expectations are also high that the Union Budget will provide for other big-ticket projects including the Metro railway and Monorail, Sewri-Nhava Sheva Trans-Harbour Link, Navi Mumbai Airport, Gondwana University and a proposed statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji in the Arabian Sea.
The demand for this special provision in addition to the State’s general share was made by State Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar at the pre-budget meeting of finance ministers with Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in New Delhi earlier this month.
In the 2014-15 budget, Maharashtra received ₹1.25 lakh crore for major infrastructure projects and ₹24,080 crore for road and rail projects.
