MG Kimmatkar dead, his dream unrealized

Nagpur: Madhukar Kimmatkar had fond hope that in his lifetime he would see a separate state of Vidarbha carved out of Maharashtra. On Wednesday, at 85, he breathed his last, his dream unfulfilled, at a private hospital after a brief illness. The funeral will be held at his native Ramtek on Thursday at 10am.
A former minister and Congress leader, Kimmatkar was the expert member of Vidarbha Statutory development board ((VSDB) ever since it was established in 1994 by a special act of Parliament. He played an instrumental role in creation of the board, which had the task of removing developmental imbalance between various regions of the state.

What drove Kimmatkar to the firm belief that only a separate state could meet the development aspirations of people of Vidarbha was the humongous study he carried out for years to quantify developmental backlog of the region vis-a-vis the more favoured western Maharashtra region. Culling figures from official documents, he had time and again established beyond doubt that large amounts of funds meant for the perennially backward regions were diverted deliberately with a political motive to keep Vidarbha and Marathwada stunted.

Born on August 10, 1932, at Ramtek in a large family of five brothers and four sisters, he had his primary education in his native town. From his teens, he was associated with the Congress and freedom movement as a Seva Dal worker. He later shifted to Nagpur for his BA at Hislop College, and graduated in 1952. He secured a clerical job in the postal department but stayed in it hardly for 10 days before returning to Ramtek to start a school run on nationalistic lines with some associates.

In 1955, he returned to Nagpur to pursue legal studies and was persuaded by Congress stalwart Narendra Tidke to join him in strengthening the trade union at the then Model Mills. Young Kimmatkar went to college in the day and did the administrative work in night shifts in a rigorous regime, and completed his law degree in 1958. He then started legal practice but strictly restricted himself to labour cases.

Taking a plunge into electoral politics, he managed to get a Congress ticket to contest from Ramtek Assembly seat in 1980 with the blessings of seniors like Vasant Sathe. He was inducted as minister of state in 1982 by the then chief minister Babasaheb Bhosale. In the legislature, he was part of a pressure group of the Congress that focused on Vidarbha development. He lost the elections in 1985 but yet the then CM Vasantdada Patil made him chairman of Small Scale Industries Development Corporation, the post he held till 1990. Later, he was made chairman of MHADA (1990 to 92).

In 1992, he again entered legislature as MLC. He also had a chance to closely associate with veteran Congress leader PV Narasimha Rao, who chose to contest from Ramtek Lok Sabha constituency. This association helped in pushing for the setting up of statutory development boards in 1994, when Rao was Prime Minister.

Respected as a scholar of Vidarbha affairs, Kimmatkar was popular with all those who supported the idea of a separate state. His death has been condoled by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who said he would always seek guidance from him on how disparity among regions in the state could be erased.

"He was a model people's representative, who fought for the interest of the state," said Governor C Vidyasagar Rao in his condolence message.

"The true tribute to Kimmatkar would be to continue the struggle for separate Vidarbha state," said ex-MP Datta Meghe. MPCC president Ashok Chavan and leader of opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil also hailed Kimmatkar as a leader who fought for tribals and the underprivileged. Ex-minister of state Rajendra Mulak described Kimmatkar as a walking encyclopedia on the subject of irrigation and development.