R K Patil to be conferred with Maharashtra Bhushan award

Mumbai, May 15 (UNI) The Maharashtra government today announced to honour Gandhian and freedom fighter Ramrao Krishnarao alias 'Dadasaheb' Patil with the Maharashtra Bhushan award for the year 2007.

The decision to confer the highest award to Mr Patil was taken at a meeting presided over by Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh.

Members of the selection committee comprising Culture Minister Ashok Chavan, former Judge Chandrashekhar Dharmadhikari, senior journalist Madhukar Bhave, cricketer Ajit Wadekar, Cultural Affairs secretary Bhushan Gagrani were present at the meeting.

The award comprises cash prize of Rs 5 lakh, a citation and a memento. It will be conferred upon Mr Patil at a function in Nagpur next month, sources said.

Ninety-nine-year-old Patil is based in Nagpur. He was a minister in the erstwhile Central Provinces and held portfolios of revenue, food and civil supplies, and planning. He had also worked as a district collector in the Central Provinces. He resigned from the Indian Civil Service (ICS) to plunge into the freedom struggle.

Mr Patil is one of the signatories of the Nagpur Pact through which Vidarbha was included in Maharashtra.

Despite working as a public administrator during the British regime, he never allowed the Union Jack to fly atop his house, official sources said.

He is probably the only surviving member of the erstwhile ICS and member of the first Planning Commission set up by late Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

Mr Patil will celebrate his birth centenary on December 13.

Earlier award winners include noted literatteur late Pu La Deshpande, melody queen Lata Mangeshkar, cricket legends Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar, vocalist Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, social workers Dr Abhay and Rani Bang, Magsaysay awardee Baba Amte, scientist Dr Raghunath Mashelkar and industrialist Ratan Tata.

UNI