Mumbai: The Maharashtra government on Thursday revoked the suspension on granting religious and linguistic minority status to educational institutions, months after a controversy erupted over a spate of approvals issued immediately after then deputy chief minister and minority development minister Ajit Pawar died in a plane crash in late January.
The government has also designated the administrative head of the minority development department to issue minority status to institutions. Pawar’s widow, Sunetra Pawar, who succeeded him as deputy chief minister, currently holds the minority development portfolio. Along with the suspension, the state government also ordered an inquiry headed by B Venugopal Reddy, additional chief secretary of the higher and technical education department. Milind Padmanabh Shenoy, the deputy secretary of the minority development department, whose digital signature was used on the certificates, was removed from his post. Additionally, minority institutions enjoy greater autonomy in admissions, staff recruitment, and internal administration, providing them with greater operational flexibility and reduced regulatory constraints.
The development comes eight months after the government suspended the issuance of minority status certificates in February, when it came to light that 75 institutions across the state were granted minority status within three days of Pawar’s death on January 28. In Maharashtra, government assistance to minority schools increased from ₹ 2 lakh to ₹ 10 lakh annually, incentivising institutions to seek this status. The administrative head refers to a senior bureaucrat, such as the additional chief secretary, principal secretary or secretary, according to the order issued by the state minority development department on Thursday.
“The measure is expected to bring uniformity and transparency to the process of issuing minority status certificates, ensure time-bound disposal of pending cases, and effectively implement the verification of certificates,” the order said.
