CHHATRAPATI SAMBHAJINAGAR: Chief minister Eknath Shinde on Saturday announced financial package of Rs 46,579 crore for the Marathwada region. Almost 45% of the aid is earmarked for the irrigation sector, including funds required for the diversion of water from west-flowing rivers towards the region.Construction of 1,300km length of roads in the Marathwada region, for Rs 12,700 crore, the multi-crore spending on the development of the Tuljabhavani temple in Osmanabad district and other pilgrim sites in the region are some significant announcements. The development of a sports university at Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and the distribution of dairy animals across Marathwada are other major takeaways from the special cabinet meet.Addressing the media after the meeting, the chief minister said the "triple engine" government in Maharashtra would fulfil every promise made to the people of Marathwada. "The cabinet meeting, taking place on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the Marathwada liberation movement, has taken a range of decisions aimed at ensuring the inclusive development of Marathwada. We have kept different elements of the society in mind," he said.Referring to the distress among the farming community in Marathwada, due to the weak run of the monsoon, the CM said the crop cover at a nominal cost of Rs 1 would help the farmers. "The government is keeping a close watch on the situation. We have already provided advance money towards crop insurance claims as a special case," he said.Shinde also announced Rs 14,000 crore for the proposed water grid project for Marathwada. Though the funding will be over and above Rs 46,579 crore pledged for the region, the official cabinet meeting press release was silent on it. Earlier, Shinde, along with his deputies Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar and different cabinet ministers held a closed-door meeting in the presence of the secretaries and other senior officials of various government departments.As per the district information office, the irrigation department has got Rs 14,000 crore for the diversion of water from the west-flowing rivers towards Marathwada. The ambitious scheme would draw 22.9 TMC water for Marathwada. There is also a revised administrative approval for 10 irrigation projects at the cost of Rs 13,677 crore.Public works department got also a large chunk of th aid at Rs 2,400 crore for improvement of 300km length of roads, Rs 109 crore for the development of 44 road works with the help of Nabard, Rs 10,300 crore for the improvement of 1,030km of roads using the hybrid annuity model and Rs 100 crore for the Godavari riverfront development in Nanded.Development plans of Rs 1,328 crore and Rs 156.6 crore for Tuljabhavani temple in Osmanabad district and Grishneshwar temple in Aurangabad district, respectively, have also been announced. Funding for other pilgrim sites, including the Saibaba birthplace at Pathri (Rs 91.8 crore), Aundha Nagnath temple (Rs 60.3 crore), Murudeshwar temple from Sillod (Rs 45 crore) are in the offing. For the women and child development department, there is an increased allocation of Rs 1,076 crore for welfare of 12 lakh beneficiary women and Rs 386.8 crore for a three-year plan of construction of 3,439 anganwadis in Marathwada.Public health got Rs 374 crore for trauma care centre at Ahmedpur, Chakur and Majalgaon, and rural hospitals at Telgaon and Wadvali. The home department got Rs 191 crore for police quarters at Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Rs 300 crore for police housing projects at Beed, Parli and Ambejogai. Transport: Rs 421 crore for 1,197 e-buses for Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. Rs 135 crore for developing vehicle inspection and training centre at Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. Rs 188 crore for the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar-Pune highway

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