The Shirdi Saibaba Temple Trust has provided an interest-free Rs 500 crore loan to Maharashtra government. The loan has been provided for the completion of the pending Nilwande irrigation project which would meet the drinking water needs of most tehsil in? Ahmednagar district of the state.
Suresh Haware, the chairperson of the trust and leader of BJP approved the loan and it¡¯s for the first time such a big amount has been sanctioned for a loan to any state-run corporation without interest. The trust hasn¡¯t set any time frame for the repayment of the loan.?
On February 1, the meeting was held and it was presided by CM Fadnavis, the loan proposal was approved and order of release funds in two instalments was issued on Saturday.?
"The Saibaba Temple Trust and the Godawari-Marathwada Irrigation Development Corporation have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the purpose. It will be a special case in the history of the temple trust," a senior official told TOI.
The official said the work had been pending for long and the project would cost Rs 1200 crore and the temple trust will release Rs 500 crore. The water resources department had made provision of Rs 300 crore in the current and the proposal for Rs 400 crore has been made for the next year¡¯s budget.
"We expect to complete the work of the left and right bank canal in two years," he said.
The famous Shirdi Saibaba Temple in Ahmednagar witness nearly 70,000 devotees coming every day and during the festive season, the number crosses 3.5 lakh devotees a day. The region has an acute water shortage and this help in form of loan from the temple trust can help the region solve the water shortage.?
"We have proposed to meet the demand of all tehsils in Ahmednagar district. Akole, Sangamner, Rahuri, Kopargaon and Shirdi are among the villages which will benefit once the project is complete," the official said.
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Incidentally, all these tehsils are controlled by politicians. NCP leader Madhukar Pichad belongs to Akole, BJP's Shivajirao Kardile and Snehalata Kolhe belong to Rahuri and Kopergaon, while the leader of opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil has been elected from Shirdi.?
The official said that the trust had released Rs 71 crore for four government-run medical colleges. "This time, an exception has been made in the form of an interest-free loan, for a public cause," the official said.