Maharashtra government may announce austerity measures in winter session

Reeling under the debt of Rs 3 lakh crore passed on by the erstwhile Congress- NCP government, the newly elected Bharatiya Janata party government will now cut down the state's expenditure by as much as 40%. To do so, the government has decided to stop popular schemes started by the earlier government.

State minister Eknath Khadse said, "The decisions of the last government will be stalled for the next three months. The decisions taken by the previous government were for their personal benefit or to impress the voters of the ministers' respective constituencies. These schemes will be reviewed and expenditure on them cut down," said Khadse.

State minister Eknath Khadse said that 19,024 villages are affected by drought and will be given aid. Farmers will be insured in the near future, he added, and the discussions with the banks are on in this regard. But the banks have shown a lukewarm response.

Meanwhile, the state government plans to give 33.5% loan waiver to farmers. Also school fees will be waived for farmers' children in standards 10 and 12. Employment guarantee scheme for unemployed farmers will be introduced. Policies related to opening new industries will be reviewed, environment ministry permissions for development projects will also be discussed in the assembly session.

"We want to help the farmers, but that will have to be done keeping in mind the financial status of the government. However, an earnest effort will be made," said Khadse.