Latest news with #TribalDevelopmentdepartment
Indian Express
30-07-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
Ahead of elections, Maharashtra govt had cleared road works worth Rs 9,300 crore in tribal areas
In months leading to the 2024 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, Maharashtra's Tribal Development department had approved road works worth Rs 9,300 crore against the approved budget of merely Rs 2,830 crore. As per the data accessed by The Indian Express, the government has dues pending Rs 10,100 crore for the works undertaken in the past three years. The finance minister has directed to avoid taking up the new projects and focus on paying up the dues. Directions have also been given to review the works which were given administrative approval but could not be started for over a year. The Tribal Affairs department of the state government undertake road works in tribal areas (budget head 5054 5117). Since the year 2022-23 to 2024-25, works worth Rs 13,016 crore were approved against the approved budget of just Rs 3,230 crore. As per the data, in December 2023 (leading up to Lok Sabha 2024 polls) woks worth Rs 4,500 crore and in July 2024 (leading up to Assembly 2024 polls) works worth Rs 4,800 crore were approved, which amounts to a total of 70 per cent of the total works in the past three years. Prior to December 2023, the total amount of administrative approval for the year 2023-24 was Rs 2,900 crore only. As per the data, works worth Rs 700 crore were given administrative approval in the year 2022-23 against the budget of Rs 400 crore. On Tuesday, Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Ajit Pawar held a review of the financial situation of the department. 'The total pendency of the dues is around Rs 10,000 crore for last three years. The minister has directed us to ensure that dues are paid and there will be no new projects,' said an official who attended the meeting. Pawar has also asked to take the review of the pending road works for more than a year. 'There are works which did not start for more than a year despite administrative approval. Directions have been given that those works will be cancelled,' said the official. The associations of Maharashtra's contractors and engineers have been demanding their dues from the government since last year. In February they wrote a letter to state government's top leadership warning to stop all ongoing infrastructure works as payments worth Rs 89,000 crore from different departments have allegedly not been paid since July 2024. Despite stopping the works in phase-wise manner across the state, the contractors have yet not been paid. Among the alleged Rs 89,000 crore dues of the contractors include Rs 46,000 crore from the Public Works Department (PWD), Rs 18,000 crore from the Jal Jeevan Mission under Water Supply and Sanitation department, Rs 8,600 crore from the rural development department, Rs 19,700 crore from the irrigation department and Rs 1,700 crore from the works done under DPDC, MLA fund and MP fund.
Indian Express
03-07-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
No plan to give loans to beneficiaries of Majhi Ladki Bahin scheme: Maharashtra minister Aditi Tatkare
Months after Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Ajit Pawar announced that beneficiaries of the Majhi Ladki Bahin scheme would be eligible for bank loans to start small businesses, Women and Child Development Minister Aditi Tatkare on Thursday informed the state Assembly in a written reply that there is no such plan at the moment. The reply also remained silent on the ruling alliance's promise of increasing the monthly payout under the scheme from Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,100. The written reply was to questions raised by MLAs from both ruling and opposition sides. 'Under the scheme, there is a provision to provide financial benefit of Rs 1,500 per month to eligible beneficiary women. In the financial year 2025-26, a budgetary provision of Rs 28,290 crore has been made for the general category, Rs 3,240 crore for the tribal category under the Tribal Development department and Rs 3,960 crore for the Scheduled Caste and Neo-Buddhist category under the Social Justice and Special Assistance department. Accordingly, the funds made available have been distributed to pay financial benefits to eligible beneficiary women,' said the reply. The department accepted that under the scheme, 2,289 women state government employees benefited. 'Their benefits have been discontinued,' Tatkare said in her written reply. In May this year, Pawar had said the government was exploring partnerships with cooperative and regional banks to facilitate these loans. 'District cooperative banks can give Rs 30,000-40,000 loan to my sisters which can be the capital to start a small business. And Rs 1,500 every month will get deposited in these banks every month which will repay the loan amount,' Pawar had said at a programme in Nande district's Mukhed. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis too had said the state government was working to ensure the financial aid provided under it brings gainful benefits to beneficiaries. 'The state government is working to ensure financial aid brings gainful benefits to beneficiaries. The scheme will be implemented effectively,' the CM had said. Replying to a question about the details of the scheme announced by Pawar, the minister in her written reply said that no such plan is on the cards at present. The 'Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana', the flagship scheme of the previous Eknath Shinde-led government, was formally launched in August last year. Under the scheme, eligible below poverty line women get financial assistance of Rs 1,500 per month through direct benefit transfer (DBT).
Indian Express
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Maharashtra: Govt move to appoint teachers on contract in over 1,700 posts in ashram schools draws criticism
Maharashtra's Tribal Development department has announced contractual appointment of teachers on over 1,700 vacant posts in ashramshalas, residential schools established in tribal areas to provide basic education and midday meals to tribal children. The decision, however, has led to criticism with many raising concerns over how detrimental the move is for quality of teaching at ashram schools as children attending these schools have no other option to obtain basic education. Last week, the Tribal Development department made the announcement for contractual appointment of teachers to 1,791 posts in ashram schools. This includes 809 teachers in the primary section of Marathi medium and 178 for English medium schools. The other posts are in secondary (455) and higher secondary (229) along with 120 graduate primary teachers. The Government Resolution (GR) states that all these posts will be filled via contractual employment and will be done through tendering process. Soon after the GR was out, educators across the state started voicing strong concerns not only over the decision to make contractual appointments but also the process of tendering. Presence of a third-party agency in the process, according to many, is a bad move. J M Abhyankar, member of Legislative Council, who has written a letter to state Tribal Development Minister Dr Ashok Uike, opposing the decision, said, 'These schools are the only source of basic education for tribal children coming from remote areas of the state. These children not only come there to study but also to stay on the same premises, this doubles the responsibilities of teachers working in these schools. As these are residential schools, teachers are also expected to stay on the premises, which requires a person to relocate to a remote area. Ideally, the government should announce incentives for trained persons to take up these jobs. But here, the state is willing to let it out to people who are ready to work on these posts on contracts.' Abhyankar also pointed out that inviting tenders means bringing an agency in the process of recruitment. 'Already the salary will be very low since it is contractual employment. And with the middlemen it will be further reduced. Which trained teacher would want to take up a job like this,' said Abhyankar, adding that the government is betraying the tribal population of the state by compromising on education of their children.
