Mumbai: In his address to the joint session of the state legislature on Wednesday, Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari reiterated the government’s resolve to protect the constitutional rights and privileges of the Marathi speaking people living in 865 villages along the Maharashtra-Karnataka border.
Govt vows to protect Belagavi’s Marathi-speaking populace Government’s commitment comes close on the heels of recent violence in border districts between Maharashtra and Karnataka.
An alleged statement by Kannada outfit Karnataka Navnirman Sena (KNS) chief Bhimashankar Patil — who said the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES) has to be shot dead — is stated to have triggered the latest bout of tension.
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had called the Marathi speaking areas of Belagavi as “Karnataka-occupied Maharashtra” and demanded its liberation.
However, chief minister BS Yediyurappa reiterated Karnataka’s stand on Belagavi district and conveyed to his counterpart in Maharashtra that his government will not cede even an inch of land to the neighbouring state.
Further, the Governor in his address defended the crop loan waiver scheme named after a social reformer Mahatma Jyotirao Phule amid criticism from the Opposition. He said the government will implement the crop loan waiver scheme in a time-bound manner.
The scheme applies for the farmers with the loan up to Rs2 lakh as on September 30, 2019. The government is finalising a relief package for farmers whose overdue amount of short-term crop loans exceed Rs2 lakh.
Similarly, to woo farmers who are repaying their crop loans timely, the government will announce new measures shortly.
On the much-ambitious Rs10 meal scheme titled Shiv Bhojan, the Governor said it aimed for the welfare of the poor and needy people. The cost of Shiv Bhojan per plate for urban areas will be Rs50 and for the rural it will be Rs35.
The poor will pay Rs10 and a square meal at a subsidised rate and the balance amount will be provided by the government. The scheme will be executed phase-wise starting each district headquarter and the municipal corporation areas.
The Governor said the government will implement security measures for the protection of women and amendments will be carried out in the laws for the purpose.
Moreover, the government will speed up the implementation of the schemes and programmes aimed at welfare of the scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, denotified tribes, nomadic tribes and other downtrodden people.
According to the Governor, the government is committed to providing security to the youths. It will strive to nurture sports talent among tribal youths by creating centres of excellence in sports or sports academies in a phased manner in Nashik, Thane, Amravati, and Nagpur. This will be done in collaboration with reputed organisations and experts.
