MUMBAI, Feb. 2 -- Calling the union budget a "vigorous march towards a developed India", chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said that Maharashtra would get Rs.98,306 crore through tax devolution, an amount that is a substantial Rs.20,000 crore more than that in the financial year 2025-26. The CM, while speaking to the media after the budget, said that Maharashtra had been allocated Rs.12,355 crore for various projects in the state. "Of the Rs.12.2 lakh crore to be invested in infrastructure projects across the country, Maharashtra will get a major chunk," he said. "Similarly, the proposed growth hubs in Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur will get Rs.5,000 crore each in the next five years as announced in the budget on Sunday. As the budget has a specific scheme for cities with a population of above 500,000, the most urbanised states like Maharashtra will benefit hugely." The CM said that the announcement of the Mumbai-Pune and Pune-Hyderabad high-speed corridors would help in increasing the state's GDP and help the development of regions like Marathwada and western Maharashtra. Deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde said that the union budget would accelerate the all-round development of Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, strengthening Mumbai and Maharashtra's economy. The opposition, however, slammed the Modi government, saying that nothing had been given to Maharashtra. Aaditya Thackeray, MLA, Shiv Sena (UBT), in a post on X, said, "There is nothing concrete to create meaningful employment. Maharashtra, the largest contributor to the union govt's treasury, is not even an afterthought. Be it GDP, GST, Income Tax, we're the largest contributors and proportionally most ignored! About the Mumbai-Pune High-Speed Railway, does it mean bullet train? Vande Bharat? An increase in speed for the current ones? What's the timeline? Fully funded by GoI or does it have a state government contribution? If this was to be a budget for all of India truly, one of the demands that I have constantly made could have still been accepted-an International Financial Services Centre for Mumbai and maybe also for Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, Delhi." Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal, said the union budget was "directionless" and had no relief for farmers and the MSME sector. "These sectors generate employment but the Modi government has ignored them completely," he said. "There is not a word in the budget regarding measures to reduce rising economic inequality in the country. Forty percent of India's total wealth is in the control of only 1%, and this is a serious issue for the future of the country."...