01.05.2022: Speech of Governor on the occasion of 62nd anniversary of establishment of Maharashtra state

Speech of Honorable Governor Mr Bhagat Singh Koshyari on the occasion of 62nd anniversary of establishment of Maharashtra state organized at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj ground, Mumbai, on Sunday 1st May, 2022.

Brothers and sisters,

1- I extend my heartfelt greetings to the Marathi people in Maharashtra and all over the world on the occasion of 62nd anniversary of the formation of Maharashtra. I pay my wholehearted tribute to the Martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the creation of Maharashtra.

2- Today is also the international Labor Day. Maharashtra was formed due to the hard work of the laborers hence it is our duty to remember them on this occasion.

3- Maharashtra is known for the works and deeds of Chhatrapati Shivraay. Maharashtra became socially enriched because of the great personalities like Mahatma Jyotirao Phule, KrantiJyoti Savitribai Phule, Rajarshi Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj, Bharat Ratna Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, Lokmanya Tilak, Gopal Ganesh Aagarkar and others.

4- While combating with the three waves of Corona in a well planned manner, Maharashtra has set an example before the entire nation. More than 92 percent adult population has been administered at least one dose of Corona vaccine. The work of giving jabs to others is being completed at a greater pace.
Though we were passing through the Covid pandemic, the state did not allow any impediment to affect its progress and development. Maharashtra is all set to become one trillion Dollar economy and it will be the first state in the country to do so.

5- I feel happy to say that Maharashtra stands second in the nation in the Export Preparedness Index (EPI) released by the Niti Aayog. Similarly, Maharashtra ranks second in the central government’s “Good Governance Index report- 2021”.

6- The policy regarding the electric vehicles (EV) made by my government is comprehensive and its implementation has also started in the state. As compared to the previous year, the registration of EV’s in Maharashtra has increased by 157 percent. My government has also taken the decision of giving rebate in the property tax to the citizens and housing societies that starts the electric vehicle charging stations.

7- Till date, 4.75 lakh houses have been provided in the rural areas under the MahaAawas scheme. Similarly, 174 water supply schemes had been started under the Jal Jeevan Mission. We are raising rupees 100 crore as startup funds. 1100 crore rupees are invested from the projects approved for the youths under the Mukhyamantri Rojgar Nirmiti Program.
8- The poor and needy people were provided free of charge ShivBhojan plates during the Corona pandemic. Presently 1549 ShivBhojan centers are operational in the state and 9 crore,18 lakh ShivBhojan plates had been distributed to the needy.

9- The decision to give benefit up to rupees 50 thousand, as incentive, to the farmers who repay their loan regularly has also been taken by the government. About 20 lakh farmers will be benefited from this subsidy. We are preparing distribution system through closed pipeline for irrigation. Different groups of farmers had been formed under the “Vikel te Pikel” (Sow that will be sold) campaign. This is proving to be beneficial for large number of farmers.

10- Maharashtra government has started the Matoshree Gram Samruddhi Shet/ Panand Raste Yojana, (a scheme for providing good roads in rural areas for facilitating the agriculture related activities) for the farmers. For this scheme run under the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) and Employment Guarantee Scheme (EGS) of the state, we are constructing more than 16000 km long paved roads.

11- With the objective of increasing the export of the state, an independent agricultural export policy has been formulated and cluster- wise facilitation cells have also been constituted for 21 different crops.

12- The Maharashtra government has planned a Bulk Drug Park in the Raigadh district along the Delhi- Mumbai corridor. This will be erected in an area of 2500 acres of land. Besides this, a medical equipment Park had also been planned at the Auric Smart City in Bidkin, near Aurangabad. This will be spread in 350 acres of land.

13- The value added tax (VAT) on natural gas has been reduced from 13.5 percent to 3 percent in order to give a boost to the use of environment- friendly natural gas. This will provide a relief to the citizens.

14- In order to reduce the stress on roads and railway lines, my government is promoting waterway for passengers. The water taxi service has been started from Belapur in Navi Mumbai to Mumbai, Elephanta and JNPT waterways. Jetties are also under construction in the district of Palghar, Thane, Ratnagiri and Raigadh.
My government has taken various decisions for promoting the air services. Flights are taking- off from the airports of Sindhudurg (Chipi), Nanded, Gondia, Jalgaon, Kolhapur and Nashik. More than 10 lakh passengers had travelled by air from Shirdi airport till the end of December 2021.
More impetus has been given to the construction of metro projects in order to strengthen the Public Transportation system in Mumbai. The phases of Mumbai metro railway -2A and Mumbai metro railway line-7 had been pressed into service and the work of 14 other Metro projects is going on with greater pace.
The re-development project of the BDD Chawls in Mumbai is also going in full swing. The construction of Hindu Hriday Samrat Balasaheb Thackeray Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg is near completion and will soon be partially opened for transportation. The coastal project in Mumbai, the ring road around Pune city, the capacity building of Mumbai -Pune express highway, construction of new road on the Khopoli- Khandala Ghat, Versova- Bandra Sea Link, Thane creek bridge, Greenfield Konkan Express Highway, Revas to Reddy marine highway, the Versova- Virar sea route project, Virar to Alibag multipurpose transport corridor and construction works of many such developmental projects had gained momentum.

15- More than 84 services, out of the total of 115, provided by the transport department, have been completely converted to online. Similarly, online platform had been made available for the stamp duty.

16- For boosting the solar power generation, Maharashtra State Power Generation Company (MAHAGENCO) will set up 187 and 390 megawatt (MW) solar power projects in Maharashtra.
Under the Chief Minister Solar Agriculture Pump scheme, 99 thousand 852 solar agriculture pumps have been installed out of the target of one lakh.

17- My government is committed for all -inclusive development. It will be taking all the sections of the society together. The state government has also extended help to all weaker sections of the society including minorities, tribal, sugarcane laborers and unorganized workers.
My government is taking all- out effort in order to mitigate the possible damage caused by disaster. For this, various disaster prevention activities has been undertaken in the state.

18- For making the cities carbon neutral, 43 Amrit cities from the state has participated in ‘Race to zero’

19- For providing the status of Elite (classical) language to Marathi at the earliest, the state government is following -up the matter with the union government.

20- The foundation stone (Bhumi Pujan) of Marathi Bhasha Bhavan had been laid in Mumbai.

21- In all, 488 schools run by the local governing bodies in the state will be developed as Model Schools in the first phase.

22- The work of preservation of forts and fortresses and ancient temples is taken up in the state. The decision to give land to Tirumala Tirupati Devsthanam in Navi Mumbai for construction of Venkateshwara temple has also been taken.

23- Along with the work of conservation of Tigers in the state, my government has also given priority for creation of new conservation reserves and biodiversity heritage sites in Maharashtra. It has been observed that besides the green cover of the state, the mangrove forests have also increased.
24- The state government is leaving no stone unturned for the progress of the state. I appeal to all the citizens to come together for creating a new and stronger Maharashtra.

Once again I extend greetings to the people of the state
on the auspicious occasion of Maharashtra Day.

Jay Hind! Jay Maharashtra!!