Senior BJP leader and former Maharashtra Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar criticised his own government on Wednesday for the imbalance in the distribution of government funds to the Vidarbha region, during the Winter Session of the Maharashtra assembly in Nagpur, which falls in the Vidarbha region of North Maharashtra.
Significantly, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis himself is an elected representative of the Nagpur South West constituency, which falls in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra.
“The people of Vidarbha should not be betrayed. The state government has not established Statutory Development Boards in the last five years despite repeated demands from leaders of Vidarbha and Marathwada,” Mungantiwar said.
“The term of the Statutory Development Boards expired on April 30, 2020, after which I, Ashok Chavan, Nitin Raut, Meghna Bordikar and many other leaders sent letters to the government demanding their re-establishment. But no proposal has been sent to the central government by the Maharashtra state government to reestablish them,” Mungantiwar said.
“Although the session is being held in Nagpur (in Vidarbha region), there is no reflection of any economic development here. The Statutory Development Board has not existed for the last five years. Due to this, injustice is being done to the youth of Vidarbha-Marathwada,” Mungantiwar said.
“By shutting down the Statutory Development Boards, the government is creating a new backlog. More than 100 letters have been received regarding the establishment of the Statutory Development Corporation, but it is not being considered. People come here only to eat food, for which Rs 200 crore is spent, but nothing is actually achieved. This is a waste of time,” Mungantiwar said.
“This is an insult to the Constitution. The state government is violating Article 371(2) of the Constitution by not establishing Statutory Development Boards. Please send the proposal of Statutory Development Corporations to the Centre immediately,” Mungantiwar said.
“When the Maharashtra state government presented its budget, it gave figures about the funds it provided to Vidarbha, Marathwada and the rest of Maharashtra. But now supplementary demands of Rs 75,000 crore have been submitted. There is an imbalance in the funds which the government has shown for Vidarbha-Marathwada and dust has been thrown in the eyes of the people,” Mungantiwar alleged.
“According to an agreement made by the Maharashtra state government, the winter session of the Maharashtra assembly is held in Nagpur, for which the state government spends Rs 200 crore. But what is the use of merely holding a session in Nagpur without providing any funds for the Statutory Development Board and the population,” Mungantiwar said.
“The Dandekar Committee and the Dr Vijay Kelkar’s Committee were formed to examine the backlog of funds to the Vidarbha-Marathwada region. Their reports have come out. But what is the government doing to eliminate the backlog,” Mungantiwar asked.