The Vijay Kelkar committee constituted to suggest ways for balanced regional development in the state, has proposed reworking the development paradigm and resource allocation in a radical manner.
The panel has suggested major overhaul in allocation of plan funds for regions, and has 146 major recommendations. The around 600-page report was tabled in the legislature on Tuesday. The panel was constituted in 2011 and submitted its report in 2013.
Suggestions include changes in indicators of regional backwardness and greater fund allocation for Marathwada and Vidarbha as compared to Western Maharashtra.
There is a major departure in its approach to bridging "development gap", moving away from "financial backlog-based postulations to one based on outcome-oriented." It lays special focus on two virtual regions – water and tribals.
It wants 2 per cent rebate in sales tax and 1 per cent reduction in interest rates on borrowed capital for boosting manufacturing and industrialization in Vidarbha; improving credit access for MSMEs, promoting tourism and forest-based industries in forest districts, as well as a solar power policy. It has also sought universal health care in rural and tribal areas.
Additional chief secretary KP Bakshi, committee member secretary, and member Vinayak Deshpande, vice-chancellor, Rashtrasant Tukdoji Maharaj Nagpur University, said that during their interactions with stakeholders, a unanimous demand was to find a solution to the water problem in their regions.
The report recommends restructuring regional development boards, which will be headed by the chief minister, and preparing five-year perspective and annual plans for the regions; establishing a project appraisal board for managing large PPP projects, and making power available in Vidarbha at cheap rate.
It wants revenues earned from selling power to other regions to be used for rehabilitation, pollution control and development in Vidarbha, and eight tribal districts and 100 talukas with adivasi majority created.
Under heads like tribal areas, agriculture, governance, industries and water resources, the committee has sought restoration of tribal lands, imparting educational and vocational skills to two lakh tribal youth annually for 10 years, setting up two tribal universities including one at Thane-Nashik, developing dry land agriculture and watersheds.
The eventual allocations for regions will be Vidarbha (33.24%), Marathwada (25.31%) and rest of Maharashtra (40.71%), a paradigm change from the current ratios of 23.03%, 18.75% and 58%.
The state will need Rs 4.99 lakh crore to ensure regional parity, but considering the limited funds that can be allocated annually and rising inflation, the amount will balloon to Rs 15.73 lakh crore by 2027. However, the plan size of Rs 23.71 lakh crore by then will give the government a cushion to allocate resources. It aims at parity in water resources by 2022 and bridging the development gap by 2027.
Some of the suggestions
* Develop 7,035km network of 16 roads to connect the four ends of Maharashtra, construct 150-km Mumbai-Nashik expressway, develop ports, and invest more in constructing railway lines.
* Use royalty earnings from Vidarbha's mineral resources only for region's development through 'ring fencing,' use Centre's green bonus for Vidarbha for development of the region in proportion to the percentage of forests in the districts.
* Implement land reforms and redistribution programmes for tribals, establish and monitor a tribal development index, ban tobacco and formulate excise policy for tribal areas.
* Shift state administrative headquarters (Mantralaya) to Nagpur from Dec 1 to 31 every year, distribute key ministries among Marathwada, Vidarbha and rest of Maharashtra.
Stakeholders seek autonomy
In a section titled 'stakeholders perspectives,' the report says that representatives of people from Vidarbha said issues of their region had been overlooked. If the blueprint for balanced economic development was not properly implemented, the alternatives could be giving Vidarbha statehood or sub-state status, they said.
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