Mumbai: The Mahayuti govt led by Devendra Fadnavis has severely curtailed the control that guardian ministers have exercised over district planning committee (DPC) funds for development works, making it clear that from now on, 70 per cent of these funds would be allocated to local MLAs while the remaining 30 per cent would be utilised by the district’s ‘guardians. ’ Also, the 30 per cent component would be distributed by the guardian ministers equally among alliance partners ( BJP , Shiv Sena and NCP ), sources said.
Speaking to the media, state revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule (BJP) said certain rules have been made for the alliance. Among other things, it has been decided that there would strictly be no public sparring between allies, and the message, he said, has been conveyed to MLAs, MPs as well as guardian ministers.
When Ajit Pawar, after joining Mahayuti in 2023, became the guardian minister of Pune district, displacing BJP’s Chandrakant Patil, it did not go down well with the BJP as the two parties had been traditional rivals, and it was feared that development works in BJP MLAs’ constituencies would suffer. Because when Patil was guardian minister, he had written to then Dy CM Devendra Fadnavis on then finance minister Ajit Pawar cancelling the Rs 450 crore DPC funds allotted for Pune district, the perception about Pune was also.
In case the dispute is still not resolved, the final decision will be taken in the presence of the CM and the Dy CMs, sources said. For long, guardian ministers have fully controlled DPC funds, and they have been known to often disproportionately favour their own party’s MLAs. DPC funds have been considered crucial to further party interests in a particular district. At the coordination committee meet, it was decided that in case of disputes over allocation of DPC funds, the matter would first be referred to the divisional commissioner for resolution. If no agreement is reached, the coordination committee will intervene.
Bawankule brushed aside speculation about CM Devendra Fadnavis moving to the Centre, stating, “The opposition is worried that as long as Fadnavis is in Maharashtra , they will not be able to run their shop.”