Kishor Rithe

WILD TALKS

KISHOR RITHE

 21January 2010

Dear Friends

Yesterday on 20^th January 2010, Vidarbha was completely closed in support of the demand of having separate Vidarbha state. Let me reiterate that it was a “Total Bandh (closed)”.It showed that the people living in Vidarbha feels that the historic injustice has been done with them as far as their development is concern. However people did not come out openly and joined the protagonists in support because they do not trust the present leadership which has come on street with this demand. As I personally support the idea of having small, beautiful and manageable separate state, I too preferred to sit at home, call my likeminded friends and gather their thoughts on the demand.

 

I chatted with my friends in social sector too. We mainly have discussed on why Vidarbha did not achieve its expected development in Maharashtra in past 50 years (not a small span)? The essence of the discussion was mainly a “Panchasutri”(five points),failure in implementing of it, lead the demand of smaller states like Vidarbha. Almost all my like minded friends expressed that the 50 year old Maharashtra has not implemented the “region specific sustainable development agenda” and hence made the people from region like Vidarbha unhappy. Following are the points in the “Panchasutri (five points)” why people in the forested region like Vidarbha feels that some “historic injustice” has been done with them?

 

 1) Development of any region depends on the “planning and policies”

 

Presently there is no focused, advanced “sustainable Development” planning/ agenda (including mission and vision) for the entire Maharashtra state. So Vidarbha region is suffering in this. As the entire planning and policy matters are mainly influenced by senior political leaders and they have been from Western Maharashtra and Marathwada, they never planned the matters from the Vidarbha perspective (Agriculture in hilly, forested region, treating forest “conservation” projects as employment giving Industry).  Same time the leadership coming from Vidarbha has also shown a complete apathy in participating (forget about taking lead) in that crucial planning and policy making process. They kept themselves happy in what they were given by political heads from the Western Maharashtra.

 

2)Lack of equitable budgeting and region specific budgetary allocation for the “sustainable development” of different  socio-political bio-geographic region like Vidarbha.

 

The important key for the development of any state is equitable budgeting and region specific budgetary allocation for the “sustainable development” of various socio-political, bio-geographic regions in the state. Presently the Budgetary allocation is mainly done by the finance Minister who has been always from Western Maharashtra or influenced by political heads from Western Maharashtra. The public representatives coming from Vidarbha had to literally beg for each and every small project for funding. Some times the allocation to projects in Vidarbha was like the obligation and not treated as a “right”.

 

Vidarbha has got 31% geographic area of Maharashtra but the budgetary allocation was not done proportionately. Vidarbha is a forested region and has protected 57% forest of the state recharging underground water table and contributing water to rivers, irrigation projects but it has received roughly 200 crore annually to manage the resource. On the contrary annual allocation of approximately 7000crore was done for irrigation projects in Western Maharashtra. Irrigation based agriculture projects in Western Maharashtra were treated with priority than forest conservation based community development projects in Vidarbha. Same is about the power projects. The power projects were established in Vidarbha, coal and required minerals were extracted from this region but the royalty, “cess” and the “revenue” earned was not returned back for implementing development agenda of this region. (However I won’t advocate thermal power projects now on the context of climate change)

 

3) Allocation of advance technology for the poorest of the poor: The most crucial factor in “sustainable development”.

 

As Vidarbha is mainly forested region, having 37% forest area of its geographical area covered with forest the tribal community and rural community living around the forested areas have got huge pressure on the natural resources for their livelihood. The planning department has to follow the parameters of “sustainable development” and ensure that every “modern appropriate technology” which addresses the issues of fuel, fodder, food, shelter, energy and transportation should be made available to such regions of the state. So that they should not feel that resource as a“curse” but the “worship”

 

However if you look at the “Annual budgets”, it seems like  the Finance department curtailed the forested region from the entire planning process of Maharashtra and allocated funding to “development” (?) of urban communities and little bit to rural communities in the Maharashtra. While doing this, they neither strike the regional balance nor addressed the regional priority issues. They even took out the allocation done for Vidarbha like forested regions (even in Khandesh and forested areas in Western Maharashtra) and utilised the same for the development (?) of the regions from where the influenced political leaders come. For doing this, they have even gone to the extent of “not” posting “capable”, sufficient and bright bureaucrats/staff (and required infrastructure and equipments) to spend the “allocated money” fully in such region.

 

4) No focus on “agriculture based development” and “agro-forestry based development”

The entire world has stamped on the “Sustainable development agenda” designed by the visionary people like Mahatma Gandhi (which was influenced by Tukdoji Maharaj and Vinobha Bhave’s ideology).This was based upon the “rural development” and “less” consumption of natural resources.

 

Hence initial India’s development vision, reflected during freedom struggle movement activities, seems supported this ideology. But in past 60 years, we Indians dragged away from this basic agenda due to the too much influence of corporate sector on political sector. It has started from Pandit Neharu and continued till Indiraji and Atalji which is at present at its highest peak.

 

 

5) Need of young people (engines) to drive any powerful process of development. It was not done in Maharashtra.

 

We always need young people (engines) to drive any powerful process of development. This is the law of nature. But in past 60 years of Independent India, no systematic attempts have been made to build the young leadership in political sector in India or Maharashtra which also affected Vidarbha. This was not a deliberate attempt but nothing concrete was done to make it happen.

 

In India 70% population is under the average age of 37 so India is a young country without capable young leadership in the state. This is serious for the entire nation.

 

At the end of the day, everybody expected that something good would come from this protest.

 

Kishor Rithe

 

1st Floor, “Pratishtha” , Bharat Nagar, Akoli Road, Near Sainagar, Amravati Pin-444607