Govt’s Vidarbha backlog claim a blatant lie, says activist

Nagpur: The state govt’s claim that Vidarbha irrigation backlog has been wiped out, made in a written reply in the Assembly last month, is “a blatant falsehood being repeated on the floor of the House”, prominent Vidarbha statehood activist Nitin Ronghe said.

He pointed out that the present chief minister, Devendra Fadnavis, strongly opposed similar claims two decades ago.Ronghe, convener of Maha Vidarbha Janjagaran, was reacting to govt reply on the long-defunct statutory development boards, in which it denied that the development backlog of Vidarbha and Marathwada has grown.Govt said the three boards for Vidarbha, Marathwada and Rest of Maharashtra, remained defunct since 2020 with reconstitution pending at the Centre, and claimed the financial backlog was cleared by 2011.

Govt added that 94% of Vidarbha’s physical irrigation backlog has been cleared, and the region drew a fund share slightly above its formula entitlement.Explaining his view with an everyday example, Ronghe said, “Govt has claimed that the financial backlog up to 2011 has been cleared, but it is half-truth. It is like a husband promising his wife in 2011 to buy gold worth Rs25,000, which would mean around 10 grams of yellow metal.

However, the husband keeps delaying and finally purchases Rs 25,000 gold years later. The catch, though, is that Rs25,000 now fetches hardly three grams of gold.

Same is the case with govt when it says that the 2011 financial backlog has been cleared.”Ronghe said govt appears to have forgotten the recent strong observations of the Nagpur bench of Bombay high court on the long-pending irrigation projects in Vidarbha.On the employment front, Ronghe asked why govt did not ensure adequate recruitment of Vidarbha youth into govt services in line with Clause 8 of the Nagpur Pact.With the same alliance ruling both the Centre and the state, it shouldn’t be difficult for the Maharashtra govt to persuade the Union home ministry to facilitate the reconstitution of the development boards, Ronghe said. However, those in power appear unwilling to do the same, Ronghe alleged, as functioning boards would restrict the diversion of a disproportionate share of development funds to already developed regions.“It is my firm belief that the non-constitution of the development boards has effectively become part of the Mahayuti govt’s common minimum programme,” Ronghe said.