A Rs. 30,000 crore (Rs. 300 billion) development package in Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's budget is hoped by farmers in Maharashtra's Vidarbha region.

In view of the neglect faced by the region since independence, it was high time the central government looks at Vidarbha seriously and announces a hefty development package, said Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (VJAS).

Kishor Tiwari president of VJAS, said," The Maharashtra government has spent over Rs. 3,000 crore towards the irrigation backlog in the past three years, but it has failed to yield any benefit to the region."

To take care of the huge backlog for the region, help sustainable irrigation projects, to take care of drinking water needs and other infrastructure development in the region, a Rs. 30,000 crore package was demanded by him.

Since 2006, the state government has announced two separate packages worth Rs. 5,825 crore. This was followed up by a loan waiver from the central government of Rs. 4,600 crore and from the state Rs. 1,100 crore (the figure for this region) in 2009.

Tiwari pointed out," Yet, suicides have not stopped, the region continues to be backward and the sentiments are strongly in favour of a separate state of Vidarbha."

Almost 50,000 farmers have committed suicide in Maharashtra, of which a majority fall in the Vidarbha region.

Tiwari further said," Despite such a large number of deaths, the state has not announced any concrete welfare measures for the farm widows, for the education of their children, employment opportunities and marriage of the girls." (With Input from Agencies)