State attempts to reach out to unhappy sections

The Maharashtra government, with an eye on the caste equations in the state, on Friday announced an outlay of ₹18,853 crore towards social sector schemes, including those for the politically sensitive Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and Dalits, and the tribal development and minority development departments

The Maharashtra government, with an eye on the caste equations in the state, on Friday announced an outlay of ₹18,853 crore towards social sector schemes, including those for the politically sensitive Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and Dalits, and the tribal development and minority development departments.

Finance minister Ajit Pawar along with chief minister Uddhav Thackeray at Vidhan Bhavan on Friday. Anshuman Poyrekar/HT Photo

The outlay includes facility creation and development at Bhima Koregaon Vijaystambh in Pune district, scholarships and grants for OBC and tribal students, and an allocation of ₹250 crore each for development schemes under Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Research and Training Institute (MahaJyoti) and Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Research and Training Institute. The allocation for MahaJyoti comes in the backdrop of the Supreme Court order striking down the political quota for OBCs in local bodies.

The announcement of facility creation at Bhima Koregaon comes ahead of the local body elections in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad. The state, however, did not declare the funds for the plan.

Finance minister Ajit Pawar also mentioned the formation of a committee to collate the empirical data of the OBCs. The state earmarked ₹1,020 crore towards scholarships for students of the OBCs, Vimukta Jati and Nomadic Tribes (VJNT), and special backward classes. The state also made an outlay of ₹400 crore towards the education and examination fees of students of the OBCs and VJNT.

In another announcement aimed at Dalit community, the government said it will provide automatic sewage cleaning machines to workers. “To eradicate the feeling of disrepute and reduce the risk of contracting diseases among workers in the municipal councils and corporations, the state has decided to make automatic sewage cleaning machines available,” the minister said.

For 2022-23, an outlay of ₹2,876 crore has been proposed for the schemes under the social justice department.

The state budget also announced a foreign education scholarship scheme for the minority development department on the lines of such a scheme under the social justice department. The scholarship will be for those pursuing postgraduate and Ph.D programmes.

The state has decided to launch a police recruitment training scheme for minority candidates. It has also proposed an outlay of ₹677 crore for the minority development department towards the expenditure of various schemes.