TOI News Desk
NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday unveiled its manifesto, “Sankalp Patra,” for the upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections, scheduled for November 20.
Union home minister Amit Shah, along with union minister Piyush Goyal, Maharashtra deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, and state BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule, were present at the event in Mumbai.
Senior BJP minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, who headed the committee to draft the manifesto, highlighting the achievements of the current Mahayuti government said, “This manifesto is dedicated to the people of Maharashtra. Under our leadership, the state’s Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) has seen significant growth. A Mahayuti government is crucial for the state’s economic progress. Our double-engine government has been instrumental in enhancing road infrastructure, adding more highways to improve connectivity.”
Here are top promises in BJP’s Maharashtra ‘Sankalp Patra’:
Drought-free Maharashtra : In the next five years, Maharashtra will be made drought-free. Water from the 167 TMC flowing in the western rivers will be redirected to the drought-prone areas of Marathwada and North Maharashtra via the Godavari basin.- Wainganga river utilization: The water flowing in the Wainganga river will be used to make Western Vidarbha drought-free.
- Marathwada water grid project: Through the ambitious Marathwada Water Grid project, 11 dams will be connected to supply water through sealed pipelines to the entire Marathwada region.
- Redirecting excess monsoon water: Excess water flowing from rivers like Krishna, Koyna, and others during the monsoon will be redirected to the perennial drought areas of Western Maharashtra.
- Solar energy for agriculture: In the next five years, solar energy will be used to meet the power needs of agriculture, ensuring farmers will get 12 hours of power during the day. For this, a ‘solar power grid’ will be set up to link solar energy with agricultural irrigation facilities.
- Job creation: One crore jobs will be created in the next five years.
- Empowering women: One crore families will be connected to women’s self-help groups and provided with special employment opportunities.
- Affordable housing and clean water: Every homeless person will be provided a house by 2022, and every household will be provided with clean drinking water.
- Infrastructure investment: An investment of five lakh crore rupees will be made in infrastructure with the help of the central government.
- Road maintenance and development: A separate mechanism will be set up for the permanent maintenance and repair of all types of roads in the state. Through the Chief Minister’s Rural Road Scheme, all villages will be connected with year-round roads. In the second phase of this scheme, 30,000 kilometers of rural roads will be constructed. Additionally, ‘pandan roads’ will be strengthened to facilitate easy access to farms for farmers.
- Digital connectivity: Maharashtra will be connected to the internet through BharatNet and MahaNet.
- Accessible healthcare: Healthcare will be made accessible to all. The reach of the Prime Minister’s Ayushman Bharat scheme and the Mahatma Phule Janarogya Yojana will be expanded, ensuring that no one is deprived of medical treatment due to financial constraints.
- Education reforms: Education will be made more contemporary and value-based, with a focus on national and constitutional values.
- Social security for workers: All workers will be registered and brought under the social security net.
- Rehabilitation for ex-servicemen and martyrs’ families: A special program will be implemented for the rehabilitation of all ex-servicemen, families of martyrs, and police personnel who lost their lives in the line of duty.
- Project-affected people rehabilitation: A fast-track campaign will be launched to complete the rehabilitation of all project-affected people in the state as soon as possible.
- Honoring national heroes: Efforts will be made to honor Mahatma Jyotiba Phule, Krantijyoti Savitribai Phule, and
Veer Savarkar with the Bharat Ratna award.