Karnataka Maharashtra border row (GS Paper 2, Governance)
Why in news?
- The border town of Belagavi has been a part of Karnataka since boundaries were demarcated along linguistic lines under theStatesReorganizationAct, 1956. But theinter-State border dispute between Karnataka and Maharashtra erupts every now and then.
Recent conflict:
- The decades-old dispute flared up again in 2022when Karnataka Chief Minister said the Karnataka government was considering laying claim to Jath taluk in Maharashtra,evoking a strong response.
- The Karnataka Legislative Assembly, on December 22, unanimously passed a resolutionto protect its interests andcalled the dispute a “closed chapter”.
- On December 27, the Maharashtra government retaliated by passing aunanimous resolution in itsAssemblyto legally pursue the inclusion of 865 Marathi-speaking villages from Belagavi, Karwar,Nipani, Bidar,Bhalkiand others in Karnataka into the State.
What are the claims of both states?
- In 1957, unhappy with the demarcation of boundaries, Maharashtra demanded realignment of its border with Karnataka. It invoked Section 21 (2) (b) of the Act, and submitted a petition to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs stating its objection to Marathi-speaking areas included in Karnataka.
- It claimed 814 villages, and three urban settlements of Belagavi, Karwar and Nippani, all part of Mumbai Presidency before independence. A petition by Maharashtra in the Supreme Court, staking a claim over Belagavi, is currently pending.
- Karnataka has consistently argued that inclusion of Belagavi as part of its territory is beyond dispute. It has cited the demarcation done on linguistic lines as per the Act and the later Mahajan Commission Report to substantiate its position.
- Karnataka has argued for inclusion of areas in Kolhapur, Sholapur and Sangli districts (falling under Maharashtra) as its territory.
- Karnataka started holding the winter session of the Legislature in Belagavi from 2006. It built a massive Secretariat building in the district headquarters, on the lines of the Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru, to reassert its claim.
- In 1960, a four-member committee was formed by both States. The committee could not arrive at a consensus and respective representatives submitted reports to their government. In the subsequent decades, chief ministers of both States have met several times to find an amicable solution but to no avail.
What were the terms of the Mahajan Commission?
- In 1966, at Maharashtra’s insistence, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi established a one-man commission, the Mahajan Commission (Mehr Chand Mahajan, third Chief Justice of India) a few months before the 1967 general elections and its report was released after the elections.
- It recommended that 264 villages be transferred to Maharashtra and that Belgaum and 247 villages remain with Karnataka.
- Maharashtra rejected the report, while Karnataka welcomed it. Karnataka argued that either the Mahajan Commission Report should be accepted fully or status quo maintained.
- In the following decades, Belagavi has significantly changed on demographic and economic fronts.
- The middle-class core areas and surroundings of the city are predominantly Kannada-speaking people. But in and around Belagavi a good number of people speak both Marathi and Kannada. Intercommunity marriages between the two linguistic groups exist.
What is the recent controversy around Jath taluk?
- A war of words broke out between BJP leaders in Karnataka and Maharashtra over the border row recently after CM BasavarajBommaisaid the BJP-led government was “seriously considering” laying a claim on Jath taluk and held meetings with senior advocates to resolve the boundary issue.
- In 2021, all40 gram panchayats of the drought-proneJathtaluk passed a resolution to join Karnataka,stating that the Maharashtra government was unable to provide water toitspeople and they were being treated unfairly.
- This fueled tension between the two states, withMaharashtraDeputy CM saying they would not cede even an inch of land toKarnataka.
