Maharashtra becomes first state to adopt Unified Pension Scheme for its employees ahead of assembly polls

The Maharashtra cabinet on August 25 decided to implement for state government employees the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) announced by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Union government a day earlier.

As per the Maharashtra cabinet's decision, UPS will be effective from March this year and will benefit all state government employees in poll-bound state, an official was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

Modi government on August 24 approved the UPS for central government employees who joined service after January 1, 2004. Employees under the National Pension Scheme (NPS) opting for UPS will be eligible for an assured pension of 50 per cent of the average basic pay drawn over the last 12 months before superannuation. The minimum qualifying service has been kept at 25 years.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde government's decision assumes significance since the tenure of the Maharashtra assembly ends in November this year, and polls are likely to be held in October-November.

"The cabinet also cleared the proposal to expand the uninterrupted power supply scheme to more farmers in the state. They would get supply during the day. It cleared the ₹7,000 crore Nar-Par-Girna river linking scheme that would primarily benefit north Maharashtra districts like Nashik and Jalgaon," he said.

The project involves lifting 9.19 TMC of water from the Nar, Par, and Auranga rivers, carrying it through a 14.56-kilometre tunnel, and releasing it in the Girna river basin near the Chankapur dam.

The cabinet statement said it would benefit around 50,000 hectares of agricultural land under irrigation.

"The state government will raise ₹5000 crore through equity and bonds under Mahatma Phule Renewable Energy and Infrastructure Technology Ltd for an ambitious project in Thane district. The total cost is expected to be ₹6,049 crore. It includes cluster housing projects at Tekdi Bungalow, Hajuri and Kisan Nagar. Similar projects would come up at Chavindre and Pogaon in Bhiwandi, and Kosara under Chandrapur Municipal Corporation," the official said.

Thane is the home turf of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

Projects like medicity, mangrove park, chemical hub and digital university that have been approved would require a cumulative expenditure of ₹10,000 crore, the official added.

The revenue relief in force for land owned by BJP Lok Sabha member and royal scion Udayanraje Bhosale will continue for his successors as well, as per a decision cleared by the cabinet, the official added.

The cabinet also cleared the proposal to issue government guarantee for payment of ₹29,000 crore to the state-run Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) to clear its dues, he said.

"The state will borrow from financial institutions like RECL and PFC. Of the total dues, ₹20,388 crore is the loan amount, while ₹9,670 crore is the interest on outstanding loan," he added.

"The proposal to increase the wages of ASHA facilitators by ₹4000, which will come into effect from April this year, has also been approved. The state government would need ₹17.59 crore additional outlay for its implementation," the official said.

(With PTI inputs)