{"id":13816,"date":"2025-10-01T16:14:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-01T10:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/devgatha.in\/en\/?p=13816"},"modified":"2026-05-16T16:47:55","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T11:17:55","slug":"yavatmal-district-development-2014-2019-comprehensive-growth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devgatha.in\/en\/yavatmal\/yavatmal-district-development-2014-2019-comprehensive-growth\/","title":{"rendered":"Development of Yavatmal District: An Era of All-Round Progress (2014\u20132019)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

During the period from 2014 to 2019, Maharashtra saw a surge of development initiatives across the state by the Devendra Fadnavis government 1.0, with special attention on the regions reeling under severe agricultural issues. Yavatmal, which was one of the worst hit districts in Maharashtra due to droughts, unseasonal rains, and abysmal irrigation over the past few years, and recorded the highest number of farmer suicides in the state, received schemes on priority and specially designed to address these critical conditions. These were not meant for the announcements sake; the Devendra Fadnavis administration took concrete steps to improve the state of agriculture and that of the farmers, revitalize the local economy, and bring the district onto the development map. During its tenure, the government took decisive actions for Yavatmal\u2019s all round development through the implementation of several major projects across sectors including agriculture, irrigation, water conservation (Jalyukt Shivar<\/a>), water supply, health and education, women’s empowerment, roads, and railways. In this article, we will take a brief overview of the transformative journey of Yavatmal district under the Devendra Fadnavis government 1.0.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After taking the oath as the Chief Minister of the state in October 2014, one of the initial agenda of Devendra Fadnavis was to formulate and implement the specific projects\/schemes for the economically backward districts. The Yavatmal district in Vidarbha with the highest incidence of farmer suicides posed a steep challenge to the new government, which rolled out several pilot schemes to alleviate the economic and psychological distress faced by the farmers of this district.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the benefit of farmers, the State Government formulated a special scheme titled the \u2018Late Motiramji Lahane Krishi Samruddhi Project<\/a>\u2019 (Agricultural Prosperity Project) with the aim of effectively addressing the agricultural crises and farmer suicides. An outlay of \u20b91,150 crore was sanctioned for this project. Its scope encompassed soil and water conservation, sustainable agriculture, growing livestock supply chain and small-scale industries, improving education and healthcare infrastructure, and establishing a mechanism to facilitate the direct delivery of farmers’ produce to various markets. Another important initiative to this end, the \u2018Baliraja Chetana Abhiyan\u2019 (Farmer Awareness Campaign) implemented in the Yavatmal district, played a pivotal role in instilling confidence among the farming community. As a result of these focused initiatives, a gradual decline in farmer suicides was achieved. Where in 2015, 291 farmers committed suicide between the months of January and September, the figure came down to 190 suicides in 2016, indicating a 40 percent reduction in farmer suicides within the Yavatmal district. Furthermore, the \u2018Ujjwala Scheme,\u2019 the \u2018Shubhmangal Vivah Scheme\u2019 and the \u2018Tejaswini Project\u2019 were also launched. Through the \u2018Ujjwala Scheme,\u2019 LPG connections were provided towards women’s empowerment in vulnerable households including those affected by farmers\u2019 suicides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parallel to these, the effective implementation of schemes such as \u2018Jalyukt Shivar,\u2019 \u2018Galmukta Dam Galyukta Shivar,\u2019 and \u2018Shettale<\/a>\u2019 in the rural areas of the district ensured a thorough increase of the ground-water level and self-irrigation facilities for the farmers to stabilize the agriculture in the district. The progress achieved through these schemes was particularly impressive in the villages like Ganeshwadi <\/a>(in Kalamb Taluka) and Chikani Domga<\/a> (in Ker Taluka). In summer of 2017, a threefold increase in the yield of groundnuts generated an income of approximately \u20b9450 crore for the farmers of the district. Another significant decision taken by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis during this phase was to include the Yavatmal district in the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) project. This decision was taken with the specific objective of fostering the growth of the dairy sector within the district.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Substantial Funds Available for Irrigation Projects<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The irrigation infrastructure in the Yavatmal district went through major uplift, backed by substantial fund allocation by the Devendra Fadnavis government. During a State Cabinet meeting held in March 2019, an allocation of \u20b93,517 crore was approved<\/a> for the Bembla River Project. This initiative is set to provide irrigation facilities to an area measuring \u200b\u200b45,818 hectares across five talukas of Yavatmal district. Furthermore, under the Baliraja Jal Sanjivani Scheme, the foundation stones for one medium-scale and 14 small-scale <\/a>irrigation projects were laid in Yavatmal, for which a total fund of \u20b9738 crore was disbursed. These projects included the Wardha Barrage (Taluka Babhulgaon); Antarga Medium Project (Taluka Darwha); Hatwanjari Medium Project (Taluka Maregaon); Dahegaon Medium Project (Taluka Ralegaon); Mahadapur Medium Project (Taluka Jari Jamani); Kobi Medium Project (Taluka Kelapur); Pachpahur Medium Project (Taluka Jamani); Varud Medium Project (Taluka Yavatmal); and Mahagaon Medium Project (Taluka Darwha). Additionally, the list of projects comprised the Lakhwapur Medium Project (Taluka Yavatmal); Kohal Medium Project (Taluka Ner); Kharda Medium Project (Taluka Babhulgaon); Manpur Medium Project (Taluka Yavatmal); Dhingdoh Medium Project (Taluka Kalegaon); and Amdapur Medium Project (Taluka Umarkhed).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Improvements in Education and Health infrastructure<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Significant decisions were also taken in the education and health sectors. In September 2018, approval was granted for the establishment of a Food Technology College<\/a> in Yavatmal at a cost of \u20b9102 crore, with the creation of 130 posts. Approval was also given for the construction of a hostel for OBC girls with a capacity of 100 residents. In the health sector, funds amounting to \u20b9150 crore were allocated for the construction of a modern super-specialty hospital in Yavatmal. Furthermore, under the ‘Jeevandayee Yojana’ (Lifesaving Scheme), 20,000 free surgeries were performed in the district at a cost of \u20b945 crore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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