The issue has been the subject of a raging controversy with local leaders insisting that the new collectorate be set up in the underdeveloped tribal taluka of Jowhar in the hope that it would aid development of the region. The government, however, is adamant on setting up the collectorate at the more developed Palghar as this would pander to the convenience of the administrative staff who would be posted there.

Thane Guardian Minister Diwakar Raote told Express Newsline: ``The British developedadministrative zones everywhere, taking into account administrative convenience and not what the people demanded. Today, post a person to a remote area like Gadchiroli and he immediately worries about his family and conveniences like hospital and education.''

He said: ``Palghar is the only centre where our district administrative staff will be happy since it is directly connected to Mumbai and has access to hospitals, schools and colleges.''

Also, he said, settling for Palghar would not adversely affect the local people since not more than 5 to 10 per cent of the locals travel to the district headquarters anyway. But, the locals point out, therein lies the rub. With the Thane collectorate 150 km away at present, access is automatically restricted. On the other hand, they say, if the new collectorate is located at Jowhar, the benefits of development - improved infrastructure, water supply, sanitation, education, etc - would automatically filter down to the people.

The decision to split Thane, home to thethird largest population for any district in the state, was taken following the malnutrition deaths in Talasari and Mokhada talukas in 1992. The government has since claimed that singling out the tribal belt for `development' was high priority.

Two years later, it set up the Pingulkar Committee to study and recommend modalities for the district's bifurcation. While supporting the need to separate the urbanised talukas from the tribal ones, the committee however recommended Palghar as the new district headquarters.

However, determined to gag the administration's doublespeak, local leaders from the five tribal talukas in Thane - Jowhar, Mokhada, Dahanu, Talasari, and Wada - have organised demonstrations, hunger strikes and even tried to take the government to court. On March 29, they also submitted a memorandum to the chief minister, but to no avail.

In their petition which was dismissed by the Bombay High Court on Monday, the petitioners pointed out that soon after the malnutrition deaths, the governmenthad shifted an additional collector, two sub-divisional officers and three project officers from Thane to Jowhar. Several rehabilitation and employment guarantee schemes which were launched had helped considerably, they pointed out. Besides, local leaders say, gastroenteritis and other related illnesses had also declined in the region since then.

However, while dismissing the petition, the court said it cannot interfere in cases of carving out new districts as that would open the floodgates for such petitions.

If Jowhar is selected as the new headquarters, they point out, the region would also receive additional funds as tribal districts are entitled to a Tribal Surplus Budget. Of the annual allocation for each of the state's 33 districts, tribal districts get seven per cent more. At present, Gadchiroli is the only tribal district in Maharashtra.