Mumbai, February 12 Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar said on Thursday that administrative approval has been granted for estimates of ₹159.36 crore to build 11 government hostels for the children of migrant sugarcane workers in the Beed district.
Pawar, also the guardian minister of Beed, said the hostels would be built under the Sant Bhagwan Baba Government Hostel Scheme, with the aim of encouraging education among the children of migrant sugarcane workers and helping them continue their studies without interruption.
A statement from her office said she made the announcement after the DPDC meeting.
Under the scheme, the state government has approved the setting up of 82 government hostels, comprising 41 each for boys and girls, in 41 talukas with a high number of sugarcane workers, it said.
"Each hostel will have a capacity of 100 students. In the first phase, 20 hostels (10 for boys and 10 for girls) were approved. Now, approval has been granted to start the remaining 62 hostels. In the Beed district alone, 22 hostels have been sanctioned through a government resolution issued by the Social Justice Department," it said.
Sunetra Pawar said it was the dream of late Ajit Pawar that children of sugarcane workers receive education and join the mainstream.
He had consistently followed up on the proposal for construction of hostels and land had been identified at several locations during his tenure as guardian minister, the deputy CM added.
She added that Ajit Pawar had instructed the Public Works Department to ensure quality construction of these hostels on the lines of those being built by the SARATHI institution for students of the Maratha community.
"All hostels are to be set up in government buildings. At present, government land is available at three locations and construction is underway there. Of the remaining 19 hostels, land is available for 11, and administrative approval for their construction has now been granted," she said.
The approved hostels include two each (one for boys and one for girls) at Patoda, Kej, Parli, Georai and Majalgaon, and one girls' hostel at Beed, according to the statement.