Under attack from the Opposition for not fulfilling the promise of 100 units of free electricity and waiver on inflated bills before Diwali, the Maharashtra cabinet on Thursday chose to discuss the financial position of state-owned power distribution company Mahavitaran before taking any decision on doling out sops.

The cabinet on Thursday tried to appease the farmers by deciding to give the state firm an annual financial assistance of Rs 1,500 crore. This aid is meant to create the basic infrastructure to give at least 1 lakh more agriculture connections every year through solar pumps until 2024. The cabinet also decided to power farms during the day instead of nights for at least 8 hours daily.