Tenure of development boards comes to an end, no extension

Staff Reporter :

FINALLY, on April 30, 2020, the previous extension to development boards in Maharashtra came to an end. Till the evening, there was no news of further extension granted to these boards. This is likely to cripple the efforts of balanced regional development of Vidarbha, Marathwada, and Rest of Maharashtra through the interventions and study conducted by these development boards. To tackle the issues of developmental backlog, the development boards of Vidarbha, Marathwada, and Rest of Maharashtra came into being. Under Article 371 (2) of the Constitution of India, the President of India had directed to establish the three statutory development boards for the above-mentioned three regions vide orders dated March 9, 1994. Governor of Maharashtra, in accordance with the powers entrusted to him, had established the three statutory development boards on April 30, 1994, that is, 26 years ago.

Subsequently, the Chairman and members of these boards were appointed on June 25, 1994. As per the previous orders, the term of the development boards was to come to an end on April 30, 2015. However, taking into account the important constributions of the boards and also the fact that the regional imbalance could not be removed, the President of India extended the term of the boards up to April 30, 2020. As the date of end of the tenure of the extension was drawing closer, political leaders have been raising the demand for further extension to the development boards.

Dr Nitin Raut, Guardian Minister of district; Devendra Fadnavis, former Chief Minister and now Leader of Opposition in Legislative Assembly; and Chandrashekhar Bawankule, former Guardian Minister of district, demanded extension beyond April 2020 to the development boards. However, till the evening of April 30, 2020, no order granting further extension was received. Dr Nitin Raut told ‘The Hitavada’ that no extension was granted to the development boards so far (till evening of April 30), as the State Cabinet was yet to take up the proposal. “We wish to make certain amendments to the parameters of functioning of the development boards. Hence, the proposal for extension has to come up before the State Cabinet,” he said. According to him, as per the Nagpur Pact, proportionate representation to people of Vidarbha was necessary in jobs. He alleged that the Governor of Maharashtra should have taken due cognisance of the situation in advance.

Devendra Fadnavis alleged that ‘one party’ in the present ruling dispensation was opposed to the concept of development boards. “If, succumbing to the pressure of that party, extension is not granted to the development boards, the 25-year long sustained fight for development of backward regions will come to an end,” he stated. He appealed to Uddhav Thackeray, Chief Minister of Maharashtra, to facilitate extension to development boards. Bawankule also demanded extension for five more years to the development boards. “The previous Government with Devendra Fadnavis as Chief Minister worked hard to remove developmental backlog of years, of deprived regions ofVidarbha and Marathwada. Still, backlog is yet to be removed completely. Hence, it is necessary to grant extension to the development boards,” he said.

The backlog in irrigation sector still exists in Buldhana, Akola, Washim, and Amravati districts of Vidarbha. Chainsukh Sancheti, Chairman of Vidarbha Development Board (VDB), had written to the State Government to grant further extension to development boards. He had sent the letter on November 29, 2019. Dr Kapil Chandrayan, Expert Member, VDB, told ‘The Hitavada’ that the issue of granting extension to the development boards was unfortunately being minimalised to petty political moves. “One must understand that the development boards are the last Constitutional platform for regions like Vidarbha and Marathwada to put up their developmental issues and concerns. If the boards are not granted extension, Vidarbha will lose in the efforts to fullfill developmental gaps,” he said. He appealed to the political class to unite in the interest of Vidarbha and look beyond party politics and grant extension to the boards.

Work done by VDB SINCE the previous extension, Vidarbha Development Board (VDB) played its role significantly in the development of Vidarbha region by way of conducting various studies and providing certain strategies for development. According to Dr Kapil Chandrayan,VDB prepared action plan for development of inland fisheries in Vidarbha, action plan for development of citrus in Vidarbha, alternate model for assessing monitoring and compensating crop damage due to wild herbivores, growth strategies for Vidarbha, and also prepared study report on crop insurance scheme. Further,VDB prepared District Development Reports of Gadchiroli,Yavatmal, Gondia, and Washim.