Marathwada has vast natural land resource including, lofty mountains, perennial rivers but these have not been fully utilized and harnessed.
Leading water expert Madhav Chitale has strongly made a case for separate Marathwada state as the one size fits all formula may not help boost development of the region. He told DNA, "Replicating development model of western Maharashtra or other regions may not help increase pace of growth in Marathwada which is spread over 64,818 sq km. There is a one school of thought which is of the view that smaller states are better for growth and administration.''
Chitale, who headed a special investigation team to probe irrigation scam during the Congress-NCP government, emphasized the need for giving a push to the animal husbandry, dairy development, grassland farming which will help transform the region and increase the standard of living.
According to Chitale, the common rules and guidelines for watershed development will not yield similar results in different regions and therefore there is need for separate rules and guidelines for Marathwada which is prone to drought and some part comes under the rain shadow region. Marathwada has vast natural land resource including, lofty mountains, perennial rivers but these have not been fully utilized and harnessed.
As far as industrial development is concerned, Chitale said the industrial development of the region is not uniform as some parts are more developed while some are lagging behind. ''Industrial units such as iron is doing well as the necessary raw material is being sourced from outside and processed here. However, industries which need local resources will have to be promoted in a big way to increase the pace of development and job potential,'' he noted.
Chitale said Marathwada has a low per capita income, low literacy rate and most of the districts remain in the low human development quartile. "However, the situation can be improved by adopting region specific development policy and also by further strengthening the railway network and transport infrastructure in general,'' he opined.
However, Chitale's suggestions was opposed by political parties who insisted that Marathwada will have to be part of unified Maharashtra to take its development to a new high.
BJP spokesman Ganesh Hake, who comes from the region, argued that even though his party favours smaller states it was against the statehood for Marathwada. ''The state government has been quite pro-active to boost development of the region and it will continue to do so,'' he added.
Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee president Ashok Chavan, who was the state chief minister during 2008 and 2010, said his party was opposed to separate Marathwada state. Instead, he blamed the BJP led government for not doing enough to expedite the development of the region as it lacks political will.
‘Infra development is key’
Madhav Chitale said Marathwada has a low per capita income, low literacy rate and most of the districts remain in the low human development quartile. He said, “The situation can be improved by adopting region specific development policy and also by further strengthening the railway and transport infra.”
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 "Madhav Chitale")
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