Maharashtra should provide thought leadership to the nation

As the state celebrates the 54th anniversary of its formation, my mind goes back to the day when the state of Maharashtra was formed in the year 1960. A photograph of Pt Jawaharlal Nehru unveiling the map of Samyukta Maharashtra at Raj Bhavan, Mumbai, at the stroke of midnight connecting April 30 and May 1, 1960, captures the jubilant mood of the state and its people. It was a moment of great promise and hope; after all, the state was formed after a long-drawn struggle.

As someone who has seen the state from a distance, I was always fascinated by the progress and economic development of Maharashtra. As a young Congress leader in Kerala, I had the good fortune of meeting Morarjee Desai, YB Chavan, SK Patil, VP Naik, SB Chavan and many others during my occasional visits to Maharashtra.

The progress made by the state during the last 54 years has indeed been impressive. There has been a marked improvement in all the parameters of human development. The state has succeeded in building on its strengths in industrial development and is today reckoned amongst the states attracting highest foreign direct investment.

As someone entrusted with the responsibility of regional development by virtue of Article 371 (2) of the Constitution, I hope to see backward regions in the state catching up with their developed counterparts in terms of socio-economic development. I do feel that in the years to come there will be decentralisation of development leading to generation of wealth and opportunities of employment in various districts of state. Maharashtra has tremendous potential in developing its agriculture sector, particularly horticulture, dairy, fisheries and others.

The state was pioneer in empowering the Panchayat Raj institutions. It has provided institutional framework for the people to govern and play their part in the development process. The level of political maturity seen among the people of the state, as also their desire for participation in governance, is assuring and augurs well for the future of democracy. The increased voter turnout during the three-phased general elections in the state was indeed heartening.

The bill passed by the Maharashtra legislature mandating reservation of 50% of seats in local autonomous bodies for women is sure to bring about a silent revolution in our towns and villages. Today, a large number of women are getting elected to local autonomous bodies. I am sure this will have a positive impact on the quality of governance. It is my considered view that whenever women are heading panchayats, there is good governance and less corruption.

The Employment Guarantee Scheme, first implemented in Maharashtra, was subsequently adopted as a model scheme by other states. It is a matter of pride that the scheme with certain modifications is implemented even at the national level.

With rapid urbanisation, cities like Mumbai are growing. A large number of people from the working class have to live in slums, often in unhygienic conditions. We need to create decent shelter for these people and improve the condition of slums.

As chancellor of 20 universities in the state, I am glad to note that student enrolment in higher education has improved remarkably. However, we are still far from achieving an enrolment ratio comparable to that of developed countries. Merely increasing educational institutions without giving due attention to creation of infrastructure and teaching facilities will have an adverse impact on the quality of education in the state.

We need to strike a fine balance between improving access and enhancing the quality of higher education.

The strength of Maharashtra is its large pool of young and educated youths. We need efforts to equip them with skills that would make them employable. Countries like Germany, which have a large number of institutions offering skill-based education, are reaping rich dividends as can be seen from the country's global leadership position in the manufacturing sector. The state urgently needs institutions offering short-term and long-term skill-based programmes to our youths to empower them economically. I often say that it is easy to get an engineer but very difficult to get a plumber, an electrician or other skilled workers, when you need their services. So skill development is very important. We also need to encourage our youths to become entrepreneurs.

As governor, I also have responsibility to monitor the progress of tribal development programmes in the state. A tribal cell has been constituted in Raj Bhavan. This responsibility took me to various tribal-dominated pockets in the state. A lot needs to be done to empower the tribals socially, politically and economically. The recent framing of the PESA Rules and relevant changes in certain state Acts has ensured that the people in the Scheduled Areas can now exercise their right to self-government through the panchayats and gram sabhas.

I have also asked universities in the state to start special coaching classes for tribal youths, where they can be prepared for various competitive examinations, such as banking and civil services. I hope it will increase their participation in government jobs.

The real strength of Maharashtra is its people. Leaders from the state were at the forefront during the freedom struggle. Even after independence, Maharashtra continued to provide intellectual leadership to the nation. Leaders from Maharashtra, such as YB Chavan, Barrister Nath Pai, SM Joshi, Com. Dange, Madhu Limaye and Madhu Dandawate, dominated the political discourse in the country. I wish and hope that the state will continue to provide thought leadership to the nation in various spheres of life in the years to come.