Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday allocated a corpus of Rs 49,248 crore, nearly one-fifth of the state's annual budget of Rs 2.56 lakh crore, for the development of the Marathwada region. The money will be used for various projects to boost irrigation and infrastructure. “Funds have been allocated for these projects and these will be completed within four years,” said Fadnavis after the state Cabinet meeting, which was held in Aurangabad for the first time, reported PTI.

Of the total money that will be raised through bonds, Rs 9,291 crore will be spent on irrigation, Rs 5,326 crore will go for developing the railway network, Rs 3,000 crore will be for road projects, Rs 1,885 for water conservation works, Rs 450 crore for micro-irrigation projects, and Rs 250 crore will be spent to expand the airport.

Over the past few years, the Marathwada region has been hit by acute drought. Recently, there has also been heavy rainfall in the region that damaged crops and led to loss of life and property.

Fadnavis announced a host of plans for Aurangabad city as well. A Bal Thackeray memorial will be set up in the city and a rural development institute, named after former Union minister late Gopinath Munde, will also come up in a few years’ time. The chief minister also said that efforts are on to bring the city up to standards worthy of the heritage tag from Unesco.

However, leader of Opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil called these “hollow promises” and added that the Chief Minister should have “declared loan waiver for the farmers.”

The package has been announced soon after protests rallies by the Maratha community have rocked the state. Their main demand has been reservation. For more than a decade, sections of the community have demanded recognition as an Other Backward Caste to avail of reservations in government jobs and educational institutions. They have asked for a 16% quota as well as amendments to The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.