Maha economy grew by $55 bn this year: CM

The issue of debt stock should not be blown out of context as it was in proportion to the state economy, which was at more than ₹51 lakh crore, the chief minister said in the legislative assembly while responding to a debate on the state budget

Mumbai: Amid criticism by the opposition regarding Maharashtra’s debt stock crossing the ₹11 lakh-mark, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said the state economy had grown by $55 billion in the ongoing fiscal year and if everything goes well, Maharashtra would become the first state in the country to have a $1 trillion economy by 2029.

CM Devendra Fadnavis (Hindustan Times)

The issue of debt stock should not be blown out of context as it was in proportion to the state economy, which was at more than ₹51 lakh crore, the chief minister said in the legislative assembly while responding to a debate on the state budget. Maharashtra tops the list among states with regards to foreign direct investment, software export, startups and unicorns, and bank deposits, while the state’s debt ratio at 18.1% is worse than only two states – Odisha at 13.1%, and Gujarat at 15.3%.

“States with higher populations find it difficult to maintain the GSDP to debt ratio. But Maharashtra is well within the cap of 25%,” he said.

Fadnavis also said that the Mumbai Metropolitan Region was most crucial for the development of the state and keeping the potential scarcity of residential and industrial water in the region in the near future, the government has given nod to two dams.

“We are building Poshir and Shilar dams in MMR. The work order for one of them has been issued and another will be issued soon. The Damanganga project has also been given the nod. Once these projects are completed, they will fulfill the drinking and industrial water needs for the next 30-40 years,” the chief minister said.

Probe against former minister Eknath Khadse

The Maharashtra government on Wednesday announced that a committee will be set up to investigate allegations of cheating and irregularities in land acquisition against NCP (SP) legislator Eknath Khadse. The committee will be headed by divisional commissioner Pravin Gedam and an IPS officer, state revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule told the legislative assembly. The committee will be asked to submit its report in three months, he said while responding to questions raised by Jalgaon’s BJP legislator Mangesh Chavan.

Chavan alleged that Khadse had cheated the government to get more compensation from land parcels in nine villages that were acquired for a highway project in Jalgaon’s Muktainagar.

The BJP MLA termed Khadse a “white collar criminal”, and alleged that he had illegally bought large chunks of land from the 56.80 hectares in nine villages, earmarked in 2023 for four-laning of the Muktainagar highway.

“Within 14 days, Khadse bought part of those lands. Later, he showed trees on them by forging documents. The idea was to get more compensation from the government, which he managed to do successfully,” Chavan claimed.

This is the second divisional commissioner probe announced against Khadse in the past four years. In 2023, a special investigation team (SIT) headed by Nashik divisional commissioner Dr Radhakrishna Game was formed to probe allegations of illegal excavation of minor minerals against Khadse and his family members. Based on the findings, a notice was issued to Khadse, asking him to pay ₹137 crore as fine for excavating the minerals without permission; the notice was stayed later.