Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a visit to Maharashtra on Saturday, during which he will launch several development initiatives costing over Rs 56,000 crore, officials said.
Modi first visited Washim, and inaugurated the Banjara Virasat 'Nagara' Museum, celebrating the rich heritage of the Banjara community, after offering prayers at Jagdamba Mata temple in Poharadevi and paying tribute at the 'samadhis' of Sant Sevalal Maharaj and Sant Ramrao Maharaj, an official release said.
Later in the day, he will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone for various development projects worth over Rs 32,800 crore in Thane.
In Mumbai, he will inaugurate the BKC to Aarey JVLR section of Mumbai Metro Line - 3 costing around Rs 14,120 crore, and will also take a ride in the metro between BKC and Santacruz stations.
At 12 noon, Modi will launch various initiatives related to the agricultural and animal husbandry sector worth around Rs 23,300 crore in Washim.
In line with his commitment to empower farmers, Modi, during the event in Washim, will disburse the 18th instalment of the PM-KISAN Samman Nidhi worth about Rs 20,000 crore to around 9.4 crore farmers, it said.
With this, the total funds released to farmers under PM-KISAN will be around Rs 3.45 lakh crore. He will also launch the 5th instalment of NaMo Shetkari Mahasanman Nidhi Yojana and disburse Rs 2,000 crore, it said.
The PM will dedicate to the nation more than 7,500 projects, costing Rs 1,920 crore, under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF). The major projects include custom hiring centres, primary processing units, warehouses, sorting and grading units, cold storage projects, post-harvest management projects etc.
He will dedicate to the nation 9,200 Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) with a combined turnover of around Rs 1,300 crore.
Further, the PM will launch the Unified Genomic Chip for cattle and indigenous sex-sorted semen technology. This initiative aims to increase availability of sex sorted semen at affordable price to farmers and reduce the cost by around Rs 200 per dose.
The Unified Genomic Chip, GAUCHIP for indigenous cattle and MAHISHCHIP for buffaloes have been developed along with genotyping services. With the implementation of genomic selection, young high-quality bulls can be identified at an early age, the release said.
At around 4 pm, the PM will inaugurate and lay foundation stones for various development projects costing more than Rs 32,800 crore in Thane.
The PM will lay the foundation stone of Thane Integral Ring Metro Rail Project to be constructed at the cost of around Rs 12,200 crore. The total length of the project is 29 km with 20 elevated and 2 underground stations.
This ambitious infrastructure project is a key effort to address the growing transportation needs of Thane, a major industrial and commercial hub in Maharashtra, the statement said.
The PM will lay the foundation stone of Elevated Eastern Freeway Extension from Chheda Nagar to Anand Nagar, Thane, worth around Rs 3,310 crore. The project will provide seamless connectivity from South Mumbai to Thane.
At 6 pm, from BKC metro station, he will flag off a metro service scheduled to run from BKC to Aarey JVLR in the western part of the metropolis. He will also travel between BKC and Santacruz metro stations, the release said.
Further, PM Modi will dedicate five solar parks with a total capacity of 19 MW across Maharashtra under the Mukhyamantri Saur Krushi Vahini Yojana 2.0.
During the programme, he will also honour beneficiaries of the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana, the release added.
He will lay the foundation stone of Phase-1 of Navi Mumbai Airport Influence Notified Area (NAINA) project worth around Rs 2,550 crore. The project comprises construction of major arterial roads, bridges, flyovers, underpasses, and integrated utility infrastructure.
Maharashtra is headed to the assembly polls, and the Election Commission is expected to announce its schedule soon.
