Rs 900 crore allocated for irrigation in Marathwada

Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh in a meeting with Marathwada Janta Vikas Parishad on Friday said that the government has allocated Rs900 crore this year for the construction of incomplete irrigation projects in drought affected Marathwada region.

The meeting was part of an ongoing government exercise to ascertain the problems faced by Marathwada, ahead of the two-day special annual cabinet meeting on September 28 and 29 at Aurangabad.

According to the chief minister, some 40 sugar factories under different cooperatives are running into losses. The government will grant permission to private investment for their revival.

Of the 30 new central universities promised by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the country, the state has asked one  for Marathwada. The government has also forwarded its request to prime minister, he said.

Deshmukh who also hails from Marathwada suggested that a delegation should meet Union Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav to demand long-pending railway projects, primarily for better connectivity between Marathwada and rest of the state.