Nagpur: The committee headed by the well-known economist Vijay Kelkar has recommended autonomous status for Vidarbha, noting that the region’s population feels neglected. It has also recommended shifting of the state secretariat to Nagpur, the state’s second capital, for the month of December every year.
Finance and Planning Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar today tabled the committee’s report in the Legislative Assembly. The committee, appointed to study the issue of balanced development of various regions of Maharashtra, has said that Vidarbha should get autonomous status on the lines of Meghalaya which was granted an autonomous status in 1969, when it was apart of Assam.
The autonomous status can be an alternative for separate statehood for the region, the report says, adding that all the important finance-related portfolios should be allocated to the leaders from Vidarbha.
