No village will go out of Maharashtra: CM Eknath Shinde on Karnataka border row

Maharashtra Chief Minister Mr Eknath Shinde on Wednesday said that it is the state government’s responsibility that no village will go out of Maharashtra adding that the Marathi people in the border areas have benefited due to the state government’s slew of initiatives. 

He was responding to the Karnataka Chief Minister Basavraj Bommai’s statement that his government is “seriously considering” laying a claim on the Jath taluka in Sangli district. ‘’The demand from villages of Jat Taluka was from 2012 ( to address their demand for water supply for irrigation from the Krishna river). At that time there was a scarcity of water in that area. Since then we have made many plans there. We are implementing many things including irrigation projects and increasing irrigation potential in Jat taluka. No village will consider moving to Karnataka because of water,’’ said Mr Shinde. 

“It is our responsibility that no village will go out of Maharashtra. Some of the issues and problems in that area have been solved, while others remain. Remaining issues will be resolved on a war footing,’’ noted the Chief Minister. Mr Shinde said that the Maharashtra-Karnataka border issue is pending in the court. The legal battle is going on in the Supreme Court. This issue needs to be resolved amicably. Meetings have also been held between the Governors of both states. The central government will also take a positive role in this, he added. 

“The Marathi people of the border areas were given some benefits by implementing the scheme. We increased it further. The pension received by freedom fighters was increased from Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000. The assistance from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund restarted. The Mahatma Jotiba Phule Arogya Bima Yojana has been made applicable by making amendments,’’ said Mr Shinde. "We want this issue to be resolved through mediation. We want no one to create controversy and create complications in this," he said.