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CMRF can now provide financial help to Maharashtrian organisations outside state
Till now, money from the CMRF could be given only to social, educational, cultural, charitable and similar institutions within Maharashtra.
In a letter to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, deputy chief ministers, school education and sports minister, and other officer bearers, the Association objected to the arrest of Yavatmal education officer Ravindra Katolkar last month.(File Photo)
The Maharashtra government has decided that the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF) can now be used to provide financial help to Maharashtrian organisations working outside the state.
The decision was notified through a Government Resolution (GR) issued by the General Administration Department.
As per the GR, the chief minister will have full authority to approve financial assistance from the CMRF to organisations of the original Maharashtrian community located outside Maharashtra, if their work is considered special or innovative.
Till now, money from the CMRF could be given only to social, educational, cultural, charitable and similar institutions within Maharashtra.
In addition, an earlier decision had allowed the fund to be used for 865 villages in the Maharashtra-Karnataka border area. Officials said after this decision, the government began receiving requests from charitable organisations outside Maharashtra seeking support from the CMRF. “The state government has now taken a final call on this issue,” an official said.
According to the new rules, the chief minister will also have the power to relax existing terms and conditions, if needed, while granting such assistance. The GR makes it clear that the new provision is meant specifically for Maharashtrian organisations outside the state, and does not change the existing support framework for the border villages.
The CMRF was set up in 1967 as a public trust. It is mainly used to provide financial help during natural disasters, major accidents and for medical treatment of poor and needy patients.
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In May 2025, Maharashtra’s CMRF became the first state relief fund in the country to receive approval under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), which allows it to accept donations from foreign sources.
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