Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Madhya Pradesh Says Rs 8.34 Crore Went to Perks as Nine Pre-Poll Caste Boards Did No Work

A written reply to the assembly discloses sparse meetings, vacant posts, zero beneficiary spending as the two-year bodies were dissolved in September.

Overview

  • The government told the state assembly that nine caste-focused welfare boards created ahead of the 2023 polls were wound up in September 2025 at the end of their two-year term.
  • Minister Gautam Tetwal reported Rs 8.34 crore was spent on chairpersons, staff salaries, car rentals and facilities, with no funds used on program work for beneficiaries.
  • No district-level meetings were held; six boards managed one state-level meeting in 2024–25 and three boards, including Maharana Pratap, Rajak and Telghani, never met.
  • Leadership and staffing lagged, with one board lacking a chairman and secretary, some boards missing members, and outsourced hires made in November 2024 later removed between April and August 2025.
  • Opposition MLA Pratap Grewal called the initiative pre-election appeasement that aided BJP appointees, while the BJP described the dissolution as a policy decision.