Legislature, Administration, Local Government & Regional Boards of Maharashtra — Practice

Question 1

Where is the winter session of the Maharashtra legislature held, and why?

Accepted Answer

At Nagpur, fulfilling a promise of the Nagpur Pact of 1953 to Vidarbha.

Question 2

Name the six revenue divisions of Maharashtra.

Accepted Answer

Konkan, Pune, Nashik, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad), Amravati and Nagpur.

Question 3

Where are the benches of the Bombay High Court?

Accepted Answer

At Nagpur, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad) and Panaji, with a circuit bench at Kolhapur notified in 2025. The principal seat is Mumbai.

Question 4

What is the composition of the Maharashtra Legislative Council?

Accepted Answer

78 members: 30 elected by MLAs, 22 by local authorities, 7 by graduates, 7 by teachers, and 12 nominated by the Governor.

Question 5

Which committee led to Maharashtra's Zilla Parishads, and when did they begin work?

Accepted Answer

The Vasantrao Naik Committee of 1960. The Zilla Parishads and Panchayat Samitis Act was passed in 1961 and the Zilla Parishads began work on 1 May 1962.

Question 6

What does the Maharashtra Right to Public Services Act, 2015 provide?

Accepted Answer

Time-bound delivery of notified public services, many through the Aaple Sarkar portal, with appeals and penalties for delay, overseen by a state commission.

Question 7

Describe the structure and distinctive features of Panchayati Raj in Maharashtra. (~150 words)

Accepted Answer

Maharashtra's Panchayati Raj follows the Vasantrao Naik Committee of 1960 and the Zilla Parishads and Panchayat Samitis Act of 1961. It has three tiers: the Gram Panchayat under the Village Panchayats Act of 1958, with a Gram Sevak as secretary; the Panchayat Samiti at the block; and the Zilla Parishad at the district, headed administratively by a Chief Executive Officer from the IAS. Its distinctive features are a strong Zilla Parishad with real functions in education, health and rural works, reservation of half of the seats for women since 2011, Mahila Gram Sabhas held before the full Gram Sabha, and PESA rules of 2014 for Scheduled Areas. Elections have been delayed at times by litigation over OBC reservation, and the method of electing the sarpanch has changed more than once.

Question 8

Examine the role of Article 371(2) in addressing regional imbalance in Maharashtra. (~250 words)

Accepted Answer

Western Maharashtra, with the Mumbai-Pune industrial belt and irrigated sugar districts, grew faster than Vidarbha and Marathwada, which lagged in irrigation, industry and social indicators. The Nagpur Pact of 1953 promised Vidarbha a proportionate share of spending, and Article 371(2) gave the promise constitutional form: the President may vest the Governor with a special responsibility for development boards for Vidarbha, Marathwada and the rest of Maharashtra, and for the equitable allocation of development funds and fair opportunities in technical education, vocational training and state employment. The boards were set up in 1994, and the Governor issued directives on the division of funds, particularly for the irrigation backlog. The Dandekar Committee of 1984 and later backlog committees supplied the data. The record is mixed: allocation became rule-based and visible, but backlogs in irrigation and roads persisted, funds were sometimes diverted, and the boards' term lapsed in 2020 before the state moved to revive them. The Kelkar Committee of 2013 showed that imbalance also exists within regions and recommended the taluka as the unit of planning. The way forward is need-based allocation at the taluka level, protected funds for backlog sectors, published outcomes and boards that monitor as well as allocate.

Question 9

Maharashtra has often pioneered governance laws. Illustrate with examples. (~150 words)

Accepted Answer

Maharashtra's Employment Guarantee Act of 1977 created a statutory right to rural work and became the model for MGNREGA in 2005. The state set up a Lokayukta under a 1971 Act, among the first in India. Its State Policy for Women of 1994 was the first in the country, and in 2011 it reserved half of local body seats for women. The Right to Public Services Act of 2015 made time-bound delivery of services enforceable. The anti-superstition law of 2013, passed after Narendra Dabholkar's murder, was among the first of its kind, and MCOCA of 1999 set a template for organised-crime laws in other states. The pattern is of early legislation, though implementation has often lagged behind the law.

Practice — Legislature, Administration, Local Government & Regional Boards of Maharashtra

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