The Karnataka-Maharashtra border dispute

  • December 7, 2022
  • Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
  • Category: DPN Topics
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The Karnataka-Maharashtra border dispute

Context:

  • The Maharashtra-Karnataka border row escalated into violence after vehicles from both states were attacked and defaced in Belagavi and Pune, respectively.

What is the issue:

  • The Maharashtra and Karnataka boundary dispute has its origins in the reorganization of states along linguistic lines via the State Reorganisation Act, 1956.
  • This Act, which took effect from 1 November, 1956, divided states on linguistic lines.
  • Since its creation on May 1, 1960, Maharashtra has claimed that 865 villages, including Belagavi (then Belgaum), Carvar and Nipani, should be merged into Maharashtra.
  • Karnataka has asserted rights over 260 Kannada-speaking villages along the Maharashtra border.

What are the Steps Taken to Resolve the Issue

  • In 1960, both States agreed to set up a four-man committee with two representatives from each State. Except on the issue of contiguity, the committee could not arrive at a unanimous decision.
  • The central government constituted the Mahajan Committee under the Supreme Court Chief Justice Meher Chand Mahajan, in 1966 to assess the situation. Representatives from both sides, Maharashtra and the then Mysore state were part of the committee.

What were the recommendations of Mahajan Committee:

  • The Committee rejected Maharashtra’s claim over Belagavi (then Belgaum).
  • The commission recommended 247 villages including Jatt, Akkalkote and Solapur, to be made part of Karnataka.
  • It also declared 264 villages including Nippani, Khanapur and Nandagad, to be made part of Maharashtra.

What is the present status of the dispute:

  • Both Karnataka and Maharashtra reckon that the complex issue will not be resolved politically, and requires a legal solution.
  • In 2004, the Maharashtra government filed a petition in the Supreme Court, staking claim over Marathi-speaking villages in Karnataka, which contested the claim.
  • Meanwhile, Karnataka changed the name of Belgaum to Belagavi and made it the second capital of the state.
  • The issue has been pending before the Supreme Court since 2004.
The Karnataka-Maharashtra border dispute