Maharashtra Will Continue Every Effort to Resolve Maharashtra-Karnataka Border Dispute: CM Devendra Fadnavis

High-Level Committee Reviews Progress on Maharashtra-Karnataka Border Issue

Mumbai, July 2026 : Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday reaffirmed the State government’s unwavering commitment to safeguarding the rights of Marathi-speaking people residing in the Maharashtra-Karnataka border areas, stating that every possible effort would continue until the long-pending border dispute is resolved.

Chairing a meeting of the High-Level Committee on the Maharashtra-Karnataka Border Dispute at the Vidhan Bhavan, the Chief Minister assured that the government stands firmly with Marathi-speaking citizens in the border regions and will take all necessary legal and administrative measures to protect their legitimate rights.

The meeting was attended by High-Level Committee members, including Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Sunetra Ajit Pawar, Rajya Sabha MP Sharad Pawar, Lok Sabha MP Narayan Rane, Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil, Tourism Minister Shambhuraj Desai, Medical Education Minister Hasan Mushrif, MLAs Jayant Patil, Suresh Khade, Sudhir Gadgil, Sachin Kalyan Shetty, Rohit R. Patil, Maharashtra State Planning Board Executive Chairman Rajesh Kshirsagar, Shashikant Shinde, Shivaji Patil, Gopichand Padalkar, and Sadabhau Khot, among others.

Addressing the meeting, Chief Minister Fadnavis said the Maharashtra-Karnataka border issue has remained a matter of continuous struggle for several decades. He announced that the State government would appoint senior legal experts to ensure that the pending case before the Supreme Court is heard at the earliest. Necessary legal applications will also be filed to expedite the proceedings.

The Chief Minister further announced that Maharashtra will provide comprehensive legal assistance to Marathi-speaking people facing court cases in Karnataka. The State government will appoint lawyers on their behalf and bear the entire cost of litigation. He said a dedicated ministerial coordination mechanism would also be established to ensure effective implementation of decisions and continuous monitoring of the issue.

Fadnavis acknowledged that Marathi-speaking residents in the border areas continue to face several difficulties and emphasized that the entire State of Maharashtra stands in solidarity with them. He assured that all suggestions and pending issues raised by the committee would receive due consideration and necessary action from the government.

He also stated that all information related to the Commission for Linguistic Minorities would be compiled and circulated among Members of Parliament from Maharashtra so that the matter could be effectively raised in Parliament.

Reiterating the government’s commitment, Fadnavis said Maharashtra’s senior legal team would play an active role in pursuing the case before the Supreme Court and ensuring that the interests of Marathi-speaking citizens are strongly represented.

Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said the Maharashtra government remains highly sensitive to the concerns of Marathi-speaking people living in the border areas and is committed to resolving the issue under the leadership of Chief Minister Fadnavis.

He highlighted several welfare measures already being implemented for residents of the border region, including five per cent reservation in the State’s pre-training centres for the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), reserved seats in engineering colleges, and similar admission benefits through the Medical Education Department.

Lok Sabha MP Narayan Rane said various suggestions had been put forward by committee members to address the concerns of Marathi-speaking people in the border areas. He stressed that it was essential to arrive at a practical and lasting solution to the long-standing dispute.

During the meeting, several members and experts shared their views, including MLAs Jayant Patil and Bhaskar Jadhav, Advocate Shivaji Jadhav, Advocate General Milind Sathe, Expert Committee member Dinesh Oulkar, and Central Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti Working President Manohar Kinekar, along with Prakash Margale.

Senior officials present at the meeting included Additional Chief Secretary to the Chief Minister Lokesh Chandra, Principal Secretary Dr. Shrikar Pardeshi, Additional Chief Secretary (Finance) Om Prakash Gupta, Additional Chief Secretary (Higher and Technical Education) Venugopal Reddy, Principal Secretary (General Administration) Atul Patne, Marathi Language Department Secretary Kiran Kulkarni, Advocate General Milind Sathe, Assistant Government Counsel Santosh Kakade, Expert Committee members Dinesh Oulkar, Prakash Margale, Mahesh Birje, Advocate R.V. Patil, and Central Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti Working President Manohar Kinekar.