Fadnavis Government Reconstitutes High-Powered Committee To Resolve Maharashtra-Karnataka Border Dispute

The Maharashtra government has reconstituted a high-powered committee to resolve the state's long-standing border dispute with neighboring Karnataka, reported Hindustan Times.

According to a government resolution (GR) issued on Thursday (19 June), the committee, headed by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, was reconstituted to ensure crucial decisions are made with consensus by a non-partisan and representative body.

This reconstitution follows the formation of the new government, with Fadnavis as Chief Minister, after last year's assembly polls.

The government has reorganized the committee whenever new administrations take office, a process seen previously on 22 November after the then Mahayuti alliance, led by Eknath Shinde, took charge.

Fadnavis leads the 18-member committee, which also includes his deputies, Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, and former chief ministers Narayan Rane, Sharad Pawar, and Prithviraj Chavan. NCP (SP) MLAs Rohit Patil and Jayant Patil, ministers Chandrakant Patil, Shambhuraj Desai, Prakash Abitkar, Suresh Khade, and BJP legislators Sudhir Gadgil and Sachin Kalyan Shetty.

Additionally, leaders of the opposition in both the legislative assembly and council are members.

The border dispute originated in 1957 after states were reorganized on linguistic lines.

Maharashtra sought to include Belagavi, which was part of the erstwhile Bombay Presidency, due to its sizeable Marathi-speaking population.

The state also laid claim to over 800 Marathi-speaking villages currently in Karnataka.

Karnataka, however, maintains the demarcation done on linguistic lines as per the States Reorganisation Act and the 1967 Mahajan Commission Report as final.