'Rs 240 cr for land, rehab of Gosikhurd project-affected'

Maharashtra government will immediately release Rs 240 crore for land acquisition and rehabilitation of those displaced due to Gosikhurd irrigation project, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said.

He has also directed officials to stick to time schedule for completing the project.

“The state government wants the project to be completed expeditiously and will release Rs 240 crore immediately for the remaining land acquisition and rehabilitation of persons affected by the inter-district Gosikhurd irrigation project,” Fadnavis said here on Monday.

Taking stock of various irrigation and other development project works of Nagpur district, Fadnavis yesterday set a time-frame of three years for completion of the Gosikhurd project.

He exhorted the officers to work with a missionary zeal and giving importance to complete the project within the given time limit.

The CM presided over a review meeting at his official residence Ramgiri here which was attended by Nagpur Guardian Minister and state Energy Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule, MP Krupal Tumane, along with local legislators, other elected representatives and high-ranking divisional and district revenue and police officials, apart from officers of irrigation and agricultural department, an official release said last night.

Funds to the tune of Rs 12.5 crore have been distributed from (previous) allocation of Rs 13.67 crore for the project-affected persons (PAPs), the meeting was informed, as per the release.

The Gosikhurd irrigation project is coming up on river Vainganga which flows across Bhandara district in Maharashtra.

The project was conceived way back in 1983. But it was actually launched on April 22, 1988, by then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi at Gosikhurd village in Bhandara which was part of then Chimur Lok Sabha constituency.

The project was expected to irrigate about 2,50,800 hectares of land in three districts of eastern Vidarbha (Nagpur, Bhandara and Chandrapur).