Metro train in Ahmedabad to be inaugurated by PM on 4th March

The Government of Gujarat has declared during the state Budget in assembly that Metro train in Ahmedabad will be inaugurated by Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi on 4th March. On this occasion, Rs. 620 Crore will be distributed for the land acquired for the Bullet train project between Mumbai & Ahmedabad.-

Advancing Healthcare

 Widened ambit of MA and MA Vatsaliya Yojana:

• Health coverage limit enhanced from Rs. 3 lakh to Rs. 5 lakh to benefit 68 lakh families.
• Increased income limit to avail benefit of MA Vatsalya Yojana from Rs. 3 lakh to Rs. 4 lakh thereby extending health coverage to 15 lakh more families.
•  Raised the monthly honorarium of 3751 ASHA facilitators by Rs. 2000 each.
•  Three Medical Colleges to come up at Amreli, Nadiad and Visnagar.
•  The largest Civil Hospital in Asia with 1200 bed capacity in Medicity campus, Ahmedabad with Cancer Hospital, Eye Hospital and Dental Hospital will be inaugurated shortly. New buildings of Kidney Hospital and U.N. Mehta Cardiac Hospital will also be completed shortly.

 Measures towards Socio-Economic Empowerment

 Widow Pension :

• o All eligible widows irrespective of the age of the son to be covered under the scheme.
• o Monthly Pension amount increased to Rs. 1250.
•  Old Age Pension given a 50% increase to Rs. 750 per month with Rs. 669 crore allocated for the purpose to benefit 7.5 lakh senior citizens Rs. 150 crore support to the eight corporations under Social Justice and Empowerment Department and to Tribal Development Corporation for beneficiary oriented loans.

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Infrastructure

•  Common Effluent Treatment Plant, Deep-sea pipeline and other related infrastructure in Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Jetpur through Public Private Partnership (PPP) at an estimated cost of Rs. 2275 crore.
•  Development of Green Field Airport with the latest facilities at Rajkot by the Airports Authority of India. The State Government has accorded the sanction to allocate required land free of cost for the project.
•  An allocation of Rs. 2000 crore made for construction of roads and bridges.
•  Construction of 75 flyovers, 45 in Municipal Corporation and 21 in Municipality areas.
•  Provision of Rs. 500 crore towards creation of facilities for water, road, drainage and street light in areas under T.P schemes and areas merged into Municipal Corporations and Municipalities.
•  Promote public transport in Municipal Corporations and A class Municipalities by increasing number of buses to 2860 in a phased manner.
•  Commercial operation of 6.5 Km route from Vastral to Apparel Park to commence by March 2019 under Ahmedabad Metro Rail Phase I.
•  Rs. 750 crore allocated for construction of railway over bridges / under bridges on railway crossings having more than 1 lakh Train Vehicle Unit over a three year period.

Other major announcements

•  Raised monthly honorarium of Anganwadi worker to Rs. 7200 from Rs. 6300 and that of Anganwadi helper to Rs. 3650 from Rs. 3200.
•  One time waiver scheme for 6.74 lakh electricity consumers with unpaid dues benefitting farmers, poor and middleclass.
•  Allocation of Rs. 3600 crore with a plan to cover 1000 feeder in 2019-20 and the whole state within 5 to 7 years under the Suryashakti Kisan Yojana (SKY) to enable farmers to generate dependable power for own use and generate income by selling the surplus.
•  Plan to organise Girnar Shivratri Kumbh Mela at Girnar.
•  A 103 km footpath at the cost of Rs. 20 crore from Ahmedabad to Shankheswar to provide safety to Jain pilgrims.
•  8 desalination plants with a total capacity of 37 crore litre water in Amreli, Bhavnagar, Porbandar, Gir Somnath, Devbhumi Dwarka and Kutch.
•  Fair Price Shop commission to be enhanced to Rs. 125 per quintal from 1st of March with an outlay of Rs. 297 crore.
•  9713 posts of police constabulary, including 554 of jail sepoi to be filled in the coming year.