CM in damage control mode
DEVENDRA FADNAVIS SEEKS INFO ON MARATHAS IN GOVT JOBS, DIRECTS BANKERS AND GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS TO SPEEDILY IMPLEMENT WELFARE SCHEMES FOR COMMUNITY
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is clearly in damage control mode - in an attempt to get to grips with the Maratha quota stir, he has directed every government department and educational institution to collect information on the number of employees from the Maratha community working in the concerned departments. He wants to ensure that he has precise information on the percentage of Marathas in government jobs before he faces the special session of the state legislature on Maratha reservation expected in September.
On Monday, Fadnavis directed bankers and government officials to speedily implement welfare schemes for the community.
On the other hand, at the State Level Banking Committee (SLBC) meeting, he urged bankers to speed up the process of disbursement of various loan schemes meant for Maratha youths, wherein loans between Rs 10 lakh and 50 lakh can be availed to start new businesses. He also instructed bankers to ensure the schemes percolated to the branch level and treat all the cases with utmost sensitivity and assist the government in encouraging youth to make them job-givers, instead of job-seekers. The state has a loan scheme for Marathas through the Annasaheb Patil Arthik Vikas Mahamandal (financial development corporation).
"This scheme is applicable to those youth who want to become entrepreneurs with interest subvention by Government of Maharashtra (GoM). These loans are interestfree. CM asked district collectors to coordinate with banks at the local level," said an official from the Chief Minister's office (CMO).
In another meeting at Mantralaya, Fadnavis also interacted with representatives of educational institutions for the smooth implementation of the government’s Rajarshi Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj fee reimbursement scheme that assures 50 per cent reimbursement of fees for Maratha students.
Last year, over two lakh students had availed the benefit of these schemes, wherein 50 per cent of the fees for 602 courses were reimbursed by the government, to those candidates whose family income was less than Rs8 lakh per year, said an official.
This year, around three lakh students are expected to benefit from this scheme. "The government is taking good decisions in the interests of students' pending money on these schemes. Now it’s time to cooperate with government to implement these decisions," was the CM's appeal to educational institutions. He also answered various queries from institutions during the meeting.