Belagavi border dispute: Hearing in SC soon; state appoints two ministers to oversee issue

A high-level 19-member committee comprising leaders from all parties met in Mumbai and decided to request the apex court to expedite the hearing. The government has constituted a two-member committee of senior ministers Chandrakant Patil and Shambhuraj Desai to oversee the development of the Supreme Court.

Mumbai: As the hearing in the Supreme Court (SC) over the inclusion of 865 villages in bordering districts in Maharashtra is expected to begin, the state government has decided to request the top court to expedite the legal proceedings.

An official from the general administration department said that the state government will request the SC to quash the application made by the Karnataka government which contended that the power to decide the issue is with the central government, not the court. (File Photo)

A high-level 19-member committee comprising leaders from all parties met in Mumbai and decided to request the apex court to expedite the hearing. The government has constituted a two-member committee of senior ministers Chandrakant Patil and Shambhuraj Desai to oversee the development of the Supreme Court.

Besides, the state government on Monday announced to extend the social schemes such as health insurance, benefits of the chief minister relief fund, and pension to the next of kin of the people who died fighting in border disputes among others.

Deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said, “Until the decision in the court, we are extending the social schemes to the people from the border areas.”

He added that the state government has appointed a new panel of advocates to represent Maharashtra in the top court. Senior advocate CS Vaidyanathan will represent the state in SC.

“We were expecting the hearing to begin on November 23, however, the SC has not designated a three-judge bench for the matter,” said Shivaji Jadhav, advocate on record representing the Maharashtra government in the apex court.

An official from the general administration department said that the state government will request the SC to quash the application made by the Karnataka government which contended that the power to decide the issue is with the central government, not the court.

“The demarcation of the boundaries and reorganisation of the areas was done by State Reorganisation Act 1956 and Bombay Reorganisation Act 1960,” he said.

There is no question referring the issue back to the parliament, the official added. The Karnataka government had moved the application after the Supreme Court in 2014, ordered both states to submit documentary evidence to support their claims.

The Maharashtra government, through its suit in 2004, had claimed over Belagavi city and 865 villages in four districts – Belagavi, Bidar, Karwar and Gulbarga. The case is based on recommendations of a committee headed by retired SC chief justice YV Chandrachud.

Maloji Ashtikar, general secretary, of Madhyavarti Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti, the federation of the organisations fighting the cause, said that about 20 lakh people have been waiting to be accommodated in Maharashtra.

“The wait has become never-ending. After SC appointed a committee of former chief justice of Jammu and Kashmir high court justice Manmohan Sarin on the inter-state border issue, Karnataka challenged it saying the powers were with the parliament,” he said.

Ashtikar added that it delayed the legal proceedings for years. During Covid-19, the Maharashtra government told the apex court that it wants offline hearing instead of online, leading to further delay.

“About 20 lakh Marathi-speaking people from four districts are eagerly waiting to be part of Maharashtra,” he said.