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9 caste-based welfare boards formed before 2023 MP polls dissolved: Govt
Congress leader Pratap Gerewal said the boards helped some BJP leaders who enjoyed ministerial status for two years, but proved to be “false appeasement” before polls
The Madhya Pradesh government has dissolved nine boards for the welfare of different castes formed before the 2023 assembly elections, the state government told the assembly on Monday.
State minister Gautam Tetwal said the boards were dissolved in September as they were constituted only for two years. He was replying to Opposition Congress lawmaker Pratap Gerewal’s question on the boards.
Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the then chief minister, announced the creation of the welfare boards to improve the lives of communities such as Vishwakarma, Rajak, Telghani, Kush, Rajputs, Meena, etc, in the run up to the 2023 assembly election.
The boards were mandated to provide skill development, entrepreneurship training, employment, and loans for start-ups and businesses. Their chairmen were given the ranks and perks equivalent to a state minister.
Tetwal said a ₹8.34 crore budget was provided for the boards, which were dissolved without any review. “None of the boards met at the district level. Six boards organised one state-level meeting, and three boards never met. The appointed presidents and members of the boards were provided facilities like vehicles, honorariums, house allowances, and telephone facilities, but no money had been spent on the work of the boards.”
Tetwal said the Maharana Pratap Board’s chairman and secretary were not appointed, and then the board was dissolved. “Members were not appointed to the Telghani and Jai Meenesh boards. Only one member was appointed to the Rajak and Veer Tejaji boards. The outsourced employees were appointed in November 2024, but they were also removed between April and August 2025,” said Tetwal.
Grewal said the boards were formed under the skill development department to change lives, but remained limited to paper. He added that this helped some ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders who enjoyed ministerial status for two years, but proved to be a “false appeasement” before elections.
BJP spokesperson Rajneesh Agrawal called the dissolution of boards a policy decision and said that the state government was not leaving any stone unturned in the growth of all the communities.
