Mumbai

Maharashtra government would be developing a new city – ‘NAINA’ – over an area of 600 sq km around the upcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport, Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao said here today.

He was addressing the joint session of the Maharashtra Legislature on the opening day of the budget session.

“The government is committed to expedite the work of the Navi Mumbai International Airport Project. Due to comprehensive rehabilitation policy of the government, consent letters from Project Affected Persons for land acquisitions have been received by CIDCO (the implementing agency).

“Majority of the clearances required for the project have been received. The government has decided to build a new city called NAINA in an area of 600 sq km, around the upcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport,” he said.

As a part of the smart city mission of the Centre, the state government wanted to develop 30 towns, focusing on “themes” such as education, medical, entertainment, industry, etc., he said, adding that study groups had been formed to suggest the roadmap for this.

The government had also taken a decision to adopt bio-metric identification system for beneficiaries to distribute food grains and other commodities from fair price shops, the Governor said.

For the convenience of consumers, the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission will now have circuit benches at Kolhapur, Pune, Nashik and Amravati, along with the existing main bench at Mumbai and circuit benches at Nagpur and Aurangabad, the Governor said.

To ensure that the farmers get market price for the produce, cold storage chains will be constructed.

The export centres set up by the Maharashtra State Agricultural Marketing Board for cultivating vegetables and fruits will now be given on rental basis to various co-operative societies and market committees, the Governor said.

To identify plant diseases in Alphonso mango, a project had been started at Vashi market and a European delegation had given positive response to this project, which would ease the difficulties in the export of Alphonso, Rao said.

The Governor also announced that for the prohibition of slaughter of cows, bulls and bullocks, the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Bill, 1995 had been passed by the state legislature, and with the President’s recent assent, it had now come into force.

The state government will continue to pursue, with the Centre, the transfer of the land of Indu Mill in Mumbai for a grand memorial of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, he said.

Rao also mentioned that the government had given in-principle approval to the plan of purchasing the house in London where Ambedkar had lived during 1921-22. Process to obtain the nod of the Centre and RBI had been started, he added.

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