Govt committed to development of Vidarbha: Uddhav

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday said his government was determined to bring about overall development of Vidarbha, with focus on farmers by giving impetus to cotton, rice and orange production in the region.

He said projects like the Nagpur- Mumbai Samruddhi Expressway, MIHAN, cancer institute in Chandrapur as well as wildlife and tourism initiatives will be speeded up.

Thackeray said the state government will take steps to bring investment in the Multi-modal International Cargo Hub and Airport at Nagpur (MIHAN).

State minister Subhash Desai said 'krishi prakriya kendra' would be set up to increase rice production in Vidarbha.

Rice is grown over large areas in Gondia, Bhandara, Gadchiroli and Chandrapur districts in the region.

He said cotton production would be given a fillip by developing a "farm to fibre, fibre to fabric and fabric to fashion" chain.

Small scale industries will be given priority in cotton processing units by giving them financial assistance in a phase-wise manner over three years, he added.

Similarly, a special programme will be implemented to increase orange production, the minister said.

Speaking on irrigation projects, he said, "Work on 123 irrigation projects (in Vidarbha) are in progress, including six big ones under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana. All pending irrigation projects will be completed by 2022, including Gosikhurd."

Gosikhurd is an earth-fill dam on Wainganga river in Bhandara district in Vidarbha.