Maharashtra Government has announced a Diwali package for ration card holders, wherein they will receive one kilogram each of semolina(rava), sugar, and chana dal besides 1 liter of palm oil at a cost of just a hundred rupees.
This decision is likely to benefit over one crore and 70 lakh families and is likely to cost the exchequer around 486 crore rupees. The decision was approved by the state cabinet today. The package can be purchased anytime during this month and will require an e-pass.
The cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde also decided to allow police personnel to avail home loan facilities from banks. The decision, initially enforced on 10th April 2016 had received a positive response with more than five thousand personnel opting for home loans from banks.
The decision was, however, reversed by the Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA government in June this year, leading to chaos with over seven thousand pending applications, seeking home loans from government coffers. Today’s decision is aimed to help police personnel get their dream home without putting any pressure on the state’s finances.
In order to bring uniformity in projects related to disaster management, the state government today decided to appoint Centre or state-approved companies as project management authority. To ensure transparency, an expression of interest will be invited and a memorandum of understanding will be signed. These agencies will work directly under the relief and rehabilitation department and be the frontal force while dealing with any disaster.
The state cabinet today also approved an additional allocation of close to 600 crore rupees for phase one of Nagpur Metro while also approving the revised estimates for construction of the Surewada irrigation scheme in Bhandara and Krishna Marathwada irrigation scheme in Osmanabad and Beed districts. (AIR NEWS)