Maharashtra is an example of good relations between Treasury, Opposition benches

Mumbai: Maharashtra offers a great example of good relations between Treasury and Opposition benches at a personal level something other Indian states can replicate, Maharashtra Governor C P Radhakrishnan said.

“One thing I always admire about Maharashtra is that there are extremely cordial relations between the Treasury Benches and the Opposition at the personal level. This is something many States can learn from Maharashtra,” Radhakrishnan said at the Platinum Jubilee celebrations and National Conference of Estimates Committees of Parliament and State/UT Legislative Bodies.

The two-day event was celebrated at the Vidhan Bhavan complex at Nariman Point in Mumbai with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh in attendance.

“Maharashtra has given the nation some of the unique ideas and schemes. The revolutionary Employment Guarantee Scheme was conceived and unveiled in Maharashtra way back in the 1970’s. Later, it was adopted at the national level,”the Governor said.

“The first Speaker of Lok Sabha late G V Mavalankar had been the Speaker of this Assembly. Former President Pratibha Patil was a member of this House. The late R S Gavai, former Governor of Kerala and the father of present Chief Justice of India was Chairman of this Legislative Council,” he said.

“Towering personalities like Y B Chavan, Vasantrao Naik, Vasantdada Patil, S.B.Chavan, Shripad Amrut Dange, S.M.Joshi, Nanasaheb Goray, Manohar Joshi, Sharad Pawar, had also graced the floor of Maharashtra Legislature. On an occasion like this one also remembers firebrand parliamentarians like George Fernandes, Barrister Nath Pai and others,” he added.

“Our founding fathers made a bold and wise choice in adopting Parliamentary Democracy. In this system, Legislative Committees, especially financial committees like the Estimates Committee, act as the backbone of accountability and transparency in governance,” he said.

“As a Member of Parliament from 1998 to 2004, I was Chairman of the Committee on Textiles. I was also a Member of the Committee on PSUs, Finance, and the Stock Exchange Scam inquiry. I can personally vouch for the important role these committees play in our democratic set up,” Radhakrishnan said recalling his personal experiences.

Over the past 75 years, the Estimates Committee has evolved into a formidable

"instrument of oversight, guiding the efficient allocation of public funds, reviewing performance and recommending improvements across ministries and departments. In a democratic setup, the consensus-driven, non-partisan nature of Estimates Committees gives them moral strength. Their constructive and fearless analysis has improved decision-making and reinforced public trust in our institutions. As government spending continues to expand in both scale and complexity, the Committee's role will only become more critical and challenging. With States often spending more than 55 per cent of their revenue receipts on committed expenditures like salaries, pensions and interest payments, there is an urgent need to look beyond traditional methods,” he added.

According to the Governor, as of 2024, the combined outstanding liabilities of all Indian states and UTs reached Rs 83.3 lakh crore.

“Committees must proactively harness tools of data analytics, dashboards, and AI-powered audit platforms to track budget performance and service delivery in real time. Recently, we had the visit of the Speaker of the Russian Duma Vycheslav Volodin to Maharashtra. He spoke of inter-parliamentary cooperation at the regional legislature level. This ‘Amritkaal’ presents us with a valuable opportunity to make collective efforts towards establishing Bharat as a global leader. We must strive to develop modern systems across all democratic institutions, inspired by the Bharatiya thought process, so that our nation secures its rightful place on the world stage as a strong, prosperous country dedicated to the welfare of all,” he added.