Gadchiroli to be the next 'steel city'; district will be Naxal-free in three years: Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis

Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday asserted that the states Gadchiroli district will be Naxalfree in the next three years and Gadchiroli town will be the steel city of India reported the PTIReplying to the debate on the oppositionsponsored last week motion in the legislative assembly in Nagpur Devendra Fadnavis listed several infrastructure projects across the state and farmercentric initiativesHe said the northern part of the Gadchiroli district bordering Telangana and Chhattisgarh has been rid of Naxals and is on the path of developmentNaxals have either been killed or surrendered he said About 1500 youth from the district which is in the states Vidarbha region have joined the police force of which 150 are from families of Naxals the CM said according to the PTIThere has been no recruitment by Naxals from Maharashtra In the next three years Naxalism will be completely eradicated from Gadchiroli he saidDevendra Fadnavis said capacity building for Gadchiroli about 900 km from Mumbai to make it the steel city of India is in full swingHe said Gondia and Gadchiroli are being linked through the MumbaiNagpur Samruddhi ExpresswaySince 2022 when the Maha Vikas Aghadi MVA government collapsed and BJPled Mahayuti took charge of the state 47 projects and investments worth Rs 123 lakh crore have come to the Vidarbha region he saidThe CM called the new regime a continuation of the government of 2022 when his present deputy Eknath Shinde was the CMOnly responsibilities have changed The development works in the state are a continuation of the efforts in the last two and a half years Collectively we have taken all decisions said Fadnavi whose party BJP has Shiv Sena and NCP as partners in the government according to the PTIThe government is focused on the riverlinking and irrigation projects and industrial development of Vidarbha and Marathwada regions he saidAfter Pune the Chhatrapati SambhajinagarJalna belt is the next industrial magnate It has already been announced that the Vande Bharat coaches will be manufactured at the Latur coach factory he said as per the PTIIn Marathwada 34 projects including a ToyotaKirloskar venture with an investment potential of Rs 72839 crore and capable of generating 40000 direct and 1 lakh indirect jobs have come since 2022 said the CMFadnavis told the House that his government would continue to take Maharashtra on the path of development and ensure justice for the states 14 crore population All our election promises will be fulfilled he assuredThe CM said a bonus of Rs 20000 per hectare for paddy growers and Rs 5000 per hectare for soybean and cotton farmers have been providedSoybean procurement which will continue till January 12 has started at 557 centres and 2368 lakh tonnes of the grain legume crop have been procured so far he said At present the rate of soybean is Rs 4892 per quintal he saidIn 202425 cotton has been grown on 40 lakh hectares and a production of 427 lakh quintals is expected the CM saidCCI Cotton Corporation of India has opened procurement centres but the market rate is attractive at Rs 72007500 Hence farmers are selling directly to traders he saidThe MumbaiGoa highway work has been taken up on a war footing he saidThe permission to raise the height of Almatti dam from 51960 metres to 524 metres was given to Karnataka in 2013 We are keeping a watch and will ensure that people and farmers in the Sangli and Kolhapur districts do not suffer due to flooding he said the news agency reported on Saturdaywith PTI inputs