11,000 villages in Maharashtra made drought-free: CM

MUMBAI: As many as 11,000 villages in Maharashtra had now become drought-free while 4,000 of them had further become `water neutral' or self-sufficient in water resources, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said today.

Remaining 7,000 villages will also soon acquire the `water neutral' status, Fadnavis said.

Fadnavis and his Madhya Pradesh counterpart Shivraj Singh Chouhan today inaugurated a national conclave on `Good Governance through people's participation' at Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini at Uttan near here.

"Good governance with people's participation and ethical business is the need of the hour. It will help the state to move ahead towards total transformation and uplift of people," Fadnavis said.

Lokmanya Tilak first showed how people's participation can be harnessed for a national cause through public celebration of Ganesh festival, he said.

Chouhan said his government's initiative `Ladli-Laxmi' for promotion of education of girls was modified after discussions with people and it became one of the most successful schemes of the state.

People's participation helped frame programmes which were empowering the people of the state, he said.