Early 90’s was an exiting period for the state of Maharashtra. The state was called the most developed , forward looking , prosperous and richest in the country .The state also seemed to have a ‘very good and efficient administration’ and a ‘ visionary leadership’. Nothing it seems can go wrong for the state.
Come 2006 . The state and Vidarbha region is witnessing unprecedented number of suicides by farmers .Regional imbalances are raising tension and threaten to tore the state apart .The state is in a vicious debt trap . Naxal violence and terrorism are the latest new problems. The state administration seems to be complete slumber and people seem to be content and complacent.
Just what happened in a decade?
I come from Vidarbha region. A decade ago when Maharashtra was called a developed state I could not really relate the prosperity of the state .It was a kind of double whammy. You come from one of the poorest regions in the country and yet are looked upon as one from the most developed region! It was difficult to explain the issue to others. Not any longer though!
This is what happed with Maharastra in last decade .
The resources were spent on unproductive purposes like bailing out sugar mills and giving sops to sugar belt farmers.
The investments that were made by taking expensive debt then did not yield desired returns a prime example is Mumbai – Pune express highway or developing the sugar belt.
There was virtually no investment in power and Infrastructure where it was needed like Mumbai . Mumbai now has a marginal growth rate as a result.
No effort was made to remove backlog of various backward region . In fact the backlog only increased fuelling regional tension.
The state failed to come up with a theme for development like Bangalore for IT and Gujarat for Petroleum
The state now finds itself where it has too high a debt coupled with an increasing expenditure and an compelling need to make huge investements in underdeveloped regions.
This is what happens really with governments worldwide. Somebody makes mistakes and others have to bear the brunt. Likewise somebody makes a sincere effort and others reap the benefit.
The leadership that took Maharashtra to such a nadir level is now nowhere to be blamed and in fact still revered. The state seems fit case where people live in past glory rather than thinking about getting over present ruins.
No comments:
Post a Comment