Governor requested Centre 5 times to constitute development boards since 2022: CM tells Assembly

Three development boards, namely Vidarbha, Marathwada and Rest of Maharashtra were constituted by the governor on June 25, 1994. The boards were meant to ascertain the relative levels of development in different sectors on the basis of appropriate indicators, assess the impact of development efforts; suggest the levels of development expenditure during a plan period; and prepare annual reports on its working and send it within three months after the end of every financial year to the governor for placing it before the Maharashtra State Legislature.

In his reply, Fadnavis noted that after the expiry of the Vidarbha, Marathwada, and Rest of Maharashtra Development Boards on 30.04.2020, to prevent any increase in developmental backlogs in these regions, funds have been allocated since 2020-21, based on the fund distribution formula determined by the Governor, as per the circulars dated 03.11.2014 and 04.03.2015.

“The allocation is as follows: Vidarbha 23.03%, Marathwada 18.75%, and Rest of Maharashtra 58.23%. During the period from 2021-22 to 2026-27, the average fund allocation for the Vidarbha and Marathwada regions has been 25.76% and 18.82% respectively, which is slightly higher than the established formula,” it said.

The reply mentioned that from July 2020 to December 2025, as many as 13,42,798 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) were registered in Vidarbha and 8,12,382 in Marathwada, creating 57.88 lakh jobs in Vidarbha and 39.13 lakh jobs in Marathwada. According to the information received from the skill, employment, entrepreneurship and innovation department, between April 2025 and March 2026, as many as 8,617 candidates were preliminarily selected in 140 job fairs organised in the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar division. Similarly, 4,728 and 7,834 candidates were preliminarily selected in 97 and 125 job fairs organised in the Amravati and Nagpur divisions, respectively.

According to information received from the water resources department, the financial backlog of irrigation for all districts in the state was cleared by March 2011. Additionally, the physical backlog for the Vidarbha and Marathwada regions has been reduced by 94% and 99% respectively. According to information received from the School Education Department, 21.33% and 22.27% of the provision has been spent for the Marathwada and Vidarbha divisions, respectively, over the past five years.

Even as the Vidarbha, Marathwada, and Rest of Maharashtra Development Boards are currently not in existence; the government has spent Rs 3.05 crore on salaries for the boards’ staff. “If the posts in the relevant administrative offices are allowed to lapse, and if the Central Government grants approval for reconstitution in the future, there is a possibility of time loss in reinstating the posts and recruiting personnel to restart the offices.

The proposal for the structure of a total of 51 temporary posts in the Vidarbha,
Marathwada, and Rest of Maharashtra Development Boards was approved via Government Resolution dated 10.04.2026. Currently, a total of 18 posts (35%) are filled across the three offices, while 33 posts (65%) are vacant. The staff currently working in the three development board offices are maintaining records, handling utilization certificates for special funds distributed to the boards, managing audit objections, and performing other related administrative work,” the reply said.