Maharashtra ministers walk out of OBC sub-committee meeting citing fund shortage, bias

Mumbai, Sep 2 (IANS) Maharashtra’s Senior Nationalist Congress Party minister Chhagan Bhujbal, along with Shiv Sena ministers Sanjay Rathod and Gulabrao Patil, on Tuesday walked out of the meeting of the cabinet sub-committee on OBC issues, boycotting the gathering, claiming lack of funds and administrative bias against the community.

The walkout led to the committee chairman and BJP minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule reprimanding officials, stating that the Finance Department must immediately disburse the budget-approved funds for OBCs to the OBC Department. He noted that although there is a legal obligation to provide these funds, officials have engaged in dilatory tactics.

Sources said Bhujbal pointed out that the meeting of the OBC sub-committee was being held after three months and that too after the call for protest given by OBC organisations against the ‘pressure tactics’ used by Maratha social activist Manoj Jarange-Patil.

“He alleged administrative bias against OBCs,” said an official present at the meeting. Bhujbal also questioned why funds were not being released for schemes meant for OBCs, while other communities are being given funds on demand.

The three ministers walked out of the meeting raising these issues. Among others, the meeting was attended by Ministers Atul Save and Ganesh Naik, along with senior officials from various departments.

After the meeting, Minister Bawankule stated that around 13 to 14 important issues were discussed in detail during the OBC Cabinet Sub-Committee meeting. These included providing land for hostels for OBC students in the state, disbursing pending scholarship amounts, and including 36 OBC castes in the central list. Additionally, an important decision was taken to resolve the funding issue of OBC corporations by December and to send some subjects to the State Planning Committee (SPC). Stating that the government’s role is to ensure justice for all communities within the OBCs, he said the government is committed to the welfare schemes for OBC students in the state and the empowerment of corporations, and will not let any corporation or scheme face a shortage of funds.

‘Mahajyoti’ and all other corporations have been granted Rs 300 crore each. However, Mahajyoti has demanded Rs 1,000 crore. Upon learning that courses were shut down due to a lack of funds, instructions were given to present the rationale for why the Rs 300-crore fund is falling short before the sub-committee, and subsequently bring that proposal before the cabinet.

Instructions were issued to immediately forward pending bills amounting to Rs 125 crore to the Finance Department. Mahajyoti has a pending liability of Rs 126 crore for PhD fellowships, and all of these funds will be made available by December.

–IANS

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