Funds for ambitious infra projects: Maharashtra govt forms committee under CS

Mumbai, Aug 8 (PTI) The Maharashtra government has formed a committee headed by Chief Secretary Sujata Saunik to recommend ways to raise finance for various infrastructure projects without burdening the exchequer, an official said on Thursday.

Incidentally, Maharashtra is staring at a fiscal deficit of Rs 1.10 lakh crore in the current financial year.

A Maharashtra Public Works Department (PWD) notification issued on Wednesday said if the state government sets up a special purpose vehicle or makes provisions for the repayment of principal or interest in its budget, it is considered that the state itself has raised finance. which limits its borrowing capacity.

As per the notification, the committee is anticipated to propose strategies for generating funds, such as offering additional FSI for commercial and residential buildings or implementing transit-oriented development, among other methods.

The funds so raised will be allocated towards the state government's ambitious infrastructure projects, including the Pune ring road, Virar Alibaug multimodal corridor, construction of the missing link on the Mumbai Pune Expressway, Versova-Vandre sea link, and Shaktipeeth Highway.

The cumulative cost of all these projects is nearly Rs three lakh crore.

After discussing the issue in the state cabinet meeting, a committee headed by Chief Secretary Sujata Saunik was set up to recommend the government new ways to raise funds. Top officials of finance, planning, revenue, forest, industries and PWD departments will be committee members. PTI ND BNM