In News:

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

What’s in today’s article:

• Background (Origin of the dispute, Areas involved, States’ claim, etc.)

Historical Background:

• The Maharashtra and Karnataka boundary dispute has its origins in the reorganisation 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, however, has refused to part with its territory.

Mahajan Commission:

• On October 25, 1966, the Centre constituted the Mahajan Commission headed by the then Supreme Court Chief Justice Meher Chand Mahajan, at the insistence of Maharashtra.
• Commission’s recommendations –
  • While rejecting Maharashtra’s claim over Belagavi (then Belgaum), the commission recommended 247 villages/places, including Jatt, Akkalkote and Solapur, to be made part of Karnataka.
  • It also declared 264 villages /places, including Nippani, Khanapur and Nandagad, to be made part of Maharashtra.
• However, the commission’s report was outrightly rejected by Maharashtra. Meanwhile, Karnataka saw the commission ruling in its favour.

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.

Why has the dispute resurfaced recently?

• Two weeks ago, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde convened a meeting in Mumbai to review the status of the border dispute.
• He deputed two senior ministers to coordinate and pursue the border row, both on the legal front and politically.
• Karnataka’s response –
  • A day later, in Bengaluru, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai announced grants for all Kannada schools in Maharashtra.
  • He also said that the Karnataka government was thinking of staking claim over 40 villages in Jatt taluka in Maharashtra’s Sangli district.
• This prompted Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to assert that the government would “not let a single village go to Karnataka”.
• Maharashtra had decided to send ministers to visit Belagavi on December 6 to hold discussions with various organisations and people.
• The proposed visit, however, was postponed after the Karnataka government urged them not to send the delegation.