Bhandara, Nov 20 (PTI) Bonus for paddy farmers will be announced in the Winter Session of the Maharashtra Legislature to be held in Nagpur next month, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said on Monday.

Speaking at a 'shaasan aplya dari' programme in Bhandara, some 60 kilometres from here, Shinde said his government believed in replying to the criticism by opponents through its work.

The issue of bonus for paddy farmers was also raised by Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis in his address at the 'government at your doorstep' event.

'The Mahayuti government will announce bonus for paddy farmers in the Winter Session of the Maharashtra Legislature to be held in Nagpur in December,' Shinde said.

The state government is planning to bring about 8000 to 10,000 hectares of land under irrigation very soon, the CM added.

He said the ruling alliance, comprising the Shiv Sena, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Ajit Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party, had won two-third of the seats in the recently held gram panchayat polls and the opposition realises the ground is slipping from beneath their feet.

He said his government's schemes related to health care, waiver of MSRTC ticket fare for women etc were greatly helping the common citizen.

The CM Relief Fund has distributed Rs 140 crore to eligible persons since his government took over in June last year, while this amount was just Rs 2.5 core under the Maha Vikas Aghadi regime, he said. PTI CLS BNM BNM BNM