Provision of Rs 1088 Crore from District Planning for Mumbai Suburban District – Palak Minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha

Mumbai : A total of Rs 1088.71 crore has been allocated for the year 2024-25 to improve the standard of living for the citizens of the Mumbai Suburban District and to implement significant measures for the improvement of slum areas. This includes Rs 1012 crore under the District Annual Plan (General), Rs 71 crore under the Scheduled Caste Up-Plan, and Rs 5.71 crore under the Out-of-Area Adivasi Up-Plan (OTSP), said Mangal Prabhat Lodha, Guardian Minister of Mumbai Suburban District, during the District Planning Committee meeting.

The meeting was attended by MP Sanjay Dina Patil, MLA Praveen Darekar, MLA Manisha Chaudhary, MLA Vidya Thakur, MLA Dr. Bharti Lovekar, MLA Atul Bhatkhalkar, MLA Nawab Malik, MLA Ramesh Korgaonkar, MLA Rituja Latke, MLA Dilip Lande, MLA Prakash Fatarpekar, MLA Mangesh Kudalkar, MLA Zeeshan Siddiqui, District Planning Committee Members, Mumbai Suburban Collector Rajendra Kshirsagar, Mumbai Municipal Corporation Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani, and senior officers of various departments.

Minister Lodha stated that a total fund of Rs 337.39 crore has been made available by the Planning Department for the year 2024-25. In this period, new projects amounting to Rs 19.90 crore have received final administrative approval, and the remaining funds (spillover) of Rs 185.56 crore from projects approved in the year 2023-24 have been allocated. To date, 51% of received funds have been utilized, making Mumbai Suburban District the top spender in the state.

To uplift the standard of living in slum areas, various measures have been undertaken. According to the 2011 census, 46% of the population of the Mumbai Suburban District lives in slum areas. To address the lack of basic civic facilities in these slums, it is proposed to allocate the maximum amount of funds available under the District Annual Plan for the year 2024-25 to enhance the public quality of life for slum dwellers. Projects will include roads, drainage systems, water supply, electricity, playgrounds on public land, Anganwadi establishments, park construction, skill development for the unemployed in slum areas, and health facilities improvement.

Funds have been allocated for the following initiatives:

• Upgradation of Urban Non-Dalit Settlements: Rs 574.78 crore
• Protection Wall Constructions under Slum Dwellers Resettlement and Rehabilitation Scheme: Rs 115.00 crore
• Skill Development Program: Rs 6.00 crore
• Dalit Vasti Improvement Scheme: Rs 65.48 crore
• Women and Child Development (3% fund): Rs 12.44 crore, proposed for constructing a Women and Child Bhavan on vacant land of the Children’s Aid Society at Chembur.

Additional projects include strengthening district-level institutions for the women and child development department, constructing various government offices, establishing Hirakni rooms in congested public places, developing Flamingo Park at Bhandup with tourism infrastructure grants, providing basic facilities for tourists at Chhota Kashmir lake in Aarey, Goregaon, and improving infrastructure for police and jails (Rs 12.44 crore), gymnasium and sports ground development (Rs 15.00 crore), and strengthening emergency management (Rs 4.50 crore).

In the year 2023-24, under the general scheme, Rs 920.00 crore out of the received funds, 100% of Rs 51.00 crore under the Scheduled Caste Sub-Yojana, and Rs 5.77 crore under the Scheme outside the Tribal Sub-Yojan area were spent. The district received a total of Rs 976.77 crore, and Rs 973.90 crore, or 99.7% of the funds, were utilized, reported Collector Kshirsagar.

The meeting included a review of funds received and expenditures incurred under the District Annual Plan (General), Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan, and Out-of-Tribal Sub-Plan (OTSP) for the year 2023-24, and discussed proposals and actions to be taken in alignment with the budgeted funds for the year 2024-25.

Additionally, information about innovative activities implemented in the district, such as the Chief Minister Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana (Women and Child Development Department), Chief Minister Youth Work Training Scheme (Skill Development Department), and the Voter Verification Program, was presented.