State cabinet approves reconstitution of statutory development boards for Vidarbha, and other areas

The state cabinet has approved reconstitution of statutory development boards for Vidarbha, Marathwada and the rest of Maharashtra. The terms of the boards, which are meant to provide for the development of these backward regions, had expired in April 2020.

The Chief Minister’s Office said that the state government will forward the proposal through the Governor to the Government of India. The BJP has contended that development in Vidarbha and Marathwada came to a halt as these boards were disbanded.

The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) had objected to Governor BS Koshyari’s authority in these boards as the latter didn’t clear the coalition’s proposal to appoint 12 MLCs from his quota. The MVA partners were of the view that appointments to these boards without filling the total capacity of the legislature may lead to legal problems.

Now, the reconstitution will come in handy for the BJP, in association with the Shinde camp, for making inroads in these regions and thereby consolidating its position to achieve its mission to win 45 out of 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

The boards for Vidarbha, Marathwada and the rest of the state was constituted on May 1, 1994 with the objective of correcting the regional imbalance in the allocation of funds for the development of the neglected regions.