States » WestPosted at: Oct 7 2026 12:19AM


Nashik: 100 new hostels proposed for OBC students in Maharashtra

Nashik, Oct 6 (UNI) The Maharashtra government will consider setting up 100 new hostels for Other Backward Class (OBC) students at the taluka level, increasing the number of divisional-level hostels to 1,000 and providing ₹1,000 crore to the Mahajyoti institution, Cabinet Sub-Committee chairman Chandrashekhar Bawankule said.
The demands were raised during a meeting of the Cabinet Sub-Committee held at Mantralaya to discuss various issues concerning the OBC community.
Bawankule assured the participants that the demands would be considered positively.
The meeting was attended by Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection Minister Chhagan Bhujbal, Forest Minister Ganesh Naik, Environment and Climate Change Minister Pankaja Munde, Water Supply and Sanitation Minister Gulabrao Patil, Other Backward Bahujan Welfare Minister Atul Save, Soil and Water Conservation Minister Sanjay Rathod, former minister Vijay Wadettiwar, Advocate Mangesh Sasane and OBC leader Laxman Hake.
Wadettiwar raised several demands concerning OBC students. He said hostels should be run directly by the government department rather than through the public-private partnership (PPP) model.
OBC students should also receive quality hostel facilities and educational concessions on the lines of those provided by the Social Justice Department, he said.
He further demanded that government schemes and benefits should be extended to OBC students from Class 11 onwards, along with a maintenance allowance. He also sought 100 per cent scholarships for OBC students pursuing professional and non-professional courses, an increase in fellowship seats in proportion to the OBC population and a minimum allocation of ₹1,000 crore to Mahajyoti.
The meeting also reviewed the availability of land for the proposed hostels.
Land has so far been secured at nine locations. Discussions were held on making 13 plots under the Dairy Development Department, 11 other plots and 16 plots under the Revenue Department available for hostel construction.
Bawankule directed officials to hold a separate meeting to identify the 16 districts where land needs to be made available on an urgent basis.
Advocate Mangesh Sasane raised concerns over the reduction in OBC reservation in local bodies. He said the Bathiya Commission report had resulted in a reduction of around 22,000 Gram Panchayat seats and warned that this could lead to a seven to eight per cent reduction in OBC reservation.
He demanded an immediate review by the state government.
Sasane also sought withdrawal of cases registered against activists involved in the OBC agitation, implementation of the 'Rashtrapita to Rashtraneta' campaign throughout the year and a solution to the issue of Kunbi certificates.
Laxman Hake demanded that OBC development corporations should be made fully operational instead of remaining only on paper. Forest Minister Ganesh Naik called for equal allocation of funds to all communities and said the existing backlog should first be cleared before further planning is undertaken.
At the end of the meeting, Chhagan Bhujbal demanded that a plan be prepared to connect the Mahatma Phule Wada in Pune with the protected memorial of Krantijyoti Savitribai Phule, located around 300 metres away.
Bhujbal also expressed concern over the low representation of OBC candidates in government recruitment and called for clear directions to be issued to heads of all departments to address the issue.
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