New Delhi, Oct 4 (UNI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Maharashtra on Saturday to launch various initiatives related to the agricultural and animal husbandry sector worth around Rs 23,300 crore in Washim.

As per the statement from the PMO, PM Modi will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone for various development projects worth over Rs 32,800 crore at Thane in Maharashtra on Saturday.

Thereafter, from BKC Metro Station, he will flag off the Metro train scheduled to run from BKC to Aarey JVLR, Mumbai.

He will also undertake a ride in the metro between BKC and Santacruz stations.

In line with his commitment to empower farmers, the Prime Minister will disburse the 18th instalment of the PM-KISAN Samman Nidhi worth about Rs 20,000 crore to around 9.4 crore farmers.

With the 18th installment release, the total funds released to farmers under PM-KISAN will be around Rs 3.45 lakh crore.

Further, he will also launch the 5th installment of the NaMo Shetkari Mahasanman Nidhi Yojana, disbursing about Rs 2,000 crore.

During the visit, PM Modi will dedicate to the nation more than 7,500 projects under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF), worth over Rs 1,920 crore.

"The major projects include custom hiring centres, primary processing units, warehouses, sorting and grading units, cold storage projects, and post-harvest management projects, among others," it said.

The Prime Minister will also dedicate to the nation 9,200 Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) with a combined turnover of around Rs 1,300 crore.

He will lay the foundation stone of the Thane Integral Ring Metro Rail Project to be constructed at the cost of around Rs 12,200 crore. The total length of the project is 29 km, with 20 elevated and 2 underground stations.

This ambitious infrastructure project is a key initiative to address the growing transportation needs of Thane, a major industrial and commercial hub in Maharashtra.

He will also lay the foundation stone of the elevated Eastern Freeway Extension from Chheda Nagar to Anand Nagar, Thane, worth around Rs 3,310 crore. The project will provide seamless connectivity from South Mumbai to Thane.

"Further, the Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone of Phase 1 of the Navi Mumbai Airport Influence Notified Area (NAINA) project worth around Rs 2,550 crore," the PMO said.

UNI JA ARN