Cabinet nod for committee to oversee welfare schemes for Dhangars

The Maharashtra government has set up an empowered committee, headed by the chief minister, to ensure that Dhangars, a nomadic tribe classified as OBC, receive benefits from government welfare schemes. The committee will consist of eight ministers and five Dhangar representatives, and will focus on speeding up the implementation of 13 dedicated schemes for the community. This decision may upset Dhangars who were expecting to be included as Scheduled Tribes to increase their share in reservations. The implementation of these schemes has slowed down in recent years, and the empowered committee will hold monthly meetings to review progress.

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government has decided to set up an empowered committee headed by chief minister Eknath Shinde to ensure that Dhangars, classified as a nomadic tribe under Other backward Classes (OBC), get the benefits of government-run welfare schemes. A proposal to this effect was cleared by the state cabinet on Wednesday.

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“A 13-member committee will speed up the implementation of 13 dedicated schemes for the Dhangar community,” said Atul Save, OBC welfare minister, after attending the cabinet meeting.

The committee will have eight ministers and five representatives from the Dhangar community, each representing a region of the state.

“Implementation of the 13 welfare schemes has slowed down in the past few years, and meetings of the empowered committee will be held every month to review progress,” said Save.

The decision is likely to upset Dhangars in Maharashtra, who were expecting to be included among Scheduled Tribes (ST) so that their share in reservations could go up from the existing 3.5% to 7%. On September 26, senior BJP leader and minister Girish Mahajan met Ahmednagar-based Dhangar activists Suresh Bandgar and Annasaheb Rupnavar, and persuaded them to withdraw their 21-day hunger strike at Chaundi in Ahmednagar. Mahajan had assured the activists that their demand for ST status and enhanced reservation would be fulfilled within 50 days. A letter signed by Anshu Sinha, secretary, OBC welfare department was also handed over to them during the occasion.

On October 24, a massive protest demanding enhanced reservation for Dhangars was held at the same venue in Chaundni. The protest was backed by Maratha activist Manoj Jarange-Patil, who asked Dhangars to raise awareness among themselves if they did not want their children to face hardships. A rally was also held in Beed on Wednesday to remind the government of this promise.

Launched by the then chief minister Devendra Fadnavis in August 2019, the 13 schemes for Dhangars were modelled on schemes for STs. An amount of ₹140 crore was earmarked in the 2023-24 state budget towards implementation of these schemes.