Over Rs. 1 lakh crore investments in Maha despite lockdown: Governor

Maharashtra attracted > Rs. 1 lakh crore (US$ 13.59 billion) in domestic and foreign direct investments, despite industrial lockdown, stated Governor, Mr. Bhagat Singh Koshyari.

Mr. Koshyari stated that even in the COVID-19 induced lockdowns, 66,000 permissions were granted online to initiate various industries.

He said, “the government also launched the Maha Job portal to facilitate employment.”

The industrial sector has been boosted by initiatives such as plug and play and ‘Mahaparwana’.

Over 800 acres of land in Mumbai's Aarey area have been declared as reserved forest by the government.

The government released a preliminary notification declaring 1,500 hectares of mangrove area as reserved forest, he said, adding that 8,500 hectares of mangrove area have been notified as reserved forest .

On January 26, 2020, the state government initiated the ‘Shiv Bhojan Yojana,’ according to the governor.

He said, “Under the scheme, the state had an expenditure of Rs. 125 crore (US$ 16.98 million) to serve > 3.15 crore thalis (meal plates) at just Rs. 5 (US$ 0.068) per thali to people.”

He added, "This scheme's success can be seen in the fact that the per day meal plate consumption has increased to 1,38,000 from the original 18,000.

The Maharashtra government took several initiatives to boost and maintain livelihood of the state. The key highlights of such initiatives include the following:

• Distribution of food grains to ~ 40 lakh farmers from 14 suicide-prone districts at an expenditure of funds worth ~ Rs. 750 crore (US$ 101.89 million).
• Special trains and buses were arranged for transport of migrant labourers and stranded students in other states in the lockdown period.
• Arrangement of temporary accommodation, food, clothing and medical treatment and medicines at an expenditure of funds worth Rs. 816 crore (US$ 110.86 million).
• Rs 609 crore (US$ 82.74 million) worth funds were allocated to Nisarga cyclone devastation areas.
• Rs 179 crore (US$ 24.32 million) worth funds were allocated for flood relief in Nagpur.
• Rs 10,000 crore (US$ 1.36 billion) of funds were announced for damage relief from heavy rainfall and floods between June to October 2020.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.