Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday laid the foundation stone for the over Rs 600 crore multipurpose dam in Jhansi district, and said his government was committed to bring the Bundelkhand region to the mainstream of development.
The government was running a number of schemes for upliftment and interest of poor and committed to remove backwardness of the Bundelkhand region, Yadav said after laying the foundation stone of the Rs 612.04 crore dam in Month tehsil of Jhansi district.
He said that the government has launched policies and programmes which would benefit the weaker section of the society most.
Laying the foundation stone of a Sainik School too, the CM said several works were still remaining for the development of the state, adding that the dam project would be completed by December 2016.
Yadav said at present 13 different projects were underway in Bundelkhand region under the Irrigation and Water Resource department.
Funds would be released immediately for projects which were most important on the basis of priority, he said.
Maintaining that the SP government was pro-farmer, he said, therefore it was observing this fiscal as "Kisan Varsh".
Referring to unseasonal rains and hailstorms, he said the state government was providing relief to the affected farmers on a large scale and was providing maximum compensation in the country.
He said that so far Rs 2,500 crore has been distributed among farmers affected by unseasonal rains and hailstorms.
The CM also presented cheques of Rs 7 lakh each to the kin of 18 farmers who died due to rains and hailstorms.
Speaking on the occasion, PWD and Irrigation Minister Shivpal Singh Yadav said that water scarcity was a major problem in Bundelkhand region, therefore work on 13 projects was started in this direction.
He said while four projects were completed and inaugurated in the last three years, two were 80 per cent and three 60 per cent complete.
Shivpal said the dam would also generate two mega watt power, which would benefit the farmers.
