State budget leaves Vidarbha sour


Published in The Hitavada on March 21, 2013

State budget leaves Vidarbha sour

By Kartik Lokhande

MUMBAI, March 20: The state budget presented on Wednesday, has very little to offer to Vidarbha region. Most of the provisions are too regular in nature and allocation made for specific projects is very limited.

Sample this. The ambitious project of Multimodal International Hub and Airport at Nagpur (MIHAN) has got an outlay of Rs 200 crore in the year 2013-14. So far, the Government has claimed to have incurred an expenditure of Rs 1,000 crore on infrastructure development and land acquisition for the project. Still, not all the bottlenecks have been removed. But, the Government claimed that the project would generate 1,25,000 direct jobs and 2,40,000 indirect jobs. How many have got jobs is known to all.

After the detailed project report, it was expected that the State Budget will include some outlay for Nagpur Metro Rail Project. However, Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Ajit Pawar made a passing reference to the project. He said, “The project proposal is under process of being sent with the State’s recommendations to the Central Government for approval.” The State Government has already accorded in-principle approval to the elevated Metro Rail project on the route Sitabuldi-Airport-Butibori. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 7,350 crore, but the State has not made budgetary allocation of a single rupee.

Still, the Government has shown enough ‘generosity’ in allocating some crores of rupees out of the State’s plan size of Rs 46,938 crore. For instance, it has sanctioned Rs 20 crore for ‘Tajbagh Development Plan’ for Nagpur city. In the same breath (read, paragraph), an allocation of Rs 30 crore has been made for development of infrastructure in Sevagram Ashram, Wardha. Considering the historical significance of the Ashram and its recent platinum jubilee celebrations, there were higher expectations from the Government. But, in vain.

This is all that is there for Nagpur, the Second Capital of Maharashtra, in the state budget. As far as Vidarbha region is concerned, not a single specific project has been announced. There is nothing to address Vidarbha’s developmental needs. Not a single word is there on developmental initiatives in Naxalite-affected areas of Gadchiroli, Gondia, Chandrapur, Bhandara. No specific word is there on improving railway connectivity in Yavatmal and Gadchiroli districts, or infrastructure development projects in Nagpur, Amravati, or Akola.

This leaves Vidarbha to depend upon its share released through different schemes. The Government has announced Rajiv Gandhi Sabala Yojana for 11 districts of Maharashtra, of which five are from Vidarbha. These include Nagpur, Amravati, Gondia, Gadchiroli, and Buldhana. This scheme will be implemented with matching share of State and Central Governments. For the year ahead, Maharashtra has proposed outlay of Rs 110.78 crore collectively for all these districts.

Poor allocation for forest and wildlife

Vidarbha region is known for its rich forest and Nagpur has got the official status of being the ‘Gateway to Tiger Land’. However, the overall budgetary outlay mentioned in Finance Minister’s budget speech is so poor that only peanuts may come the way of Vidarbha. In fact, when Ajit Pawar announced budget outlay for forest and related heads, ministers and MLAs in the Assembly could not stop themselves from bursting out in laughter. They had a reason too. Pawar has made a provision of Rs 9.52 crore (it is Rs 9.52 crore only) under state sector schemes pertaining to joint forest management and forestation. Further, he proposed an outlay of Rs 10.75 crore only for rehabilitation of villages in national park and sanctuaries in Sahyadri Tiger Project, Dnyanganga, Katepurna, and Tipeshwar sanctuaries and for acquisition of land for Great Indian Bustard sanctuary. Even if the allocation is spread thin equally among these projects/sanctuaries, none will actually get more than Rs 2 crore. Considering the threats to forest and wildlife, need for relocation of villages to curb man-animal conflict, forestation in barren patches to avoid desertification, ensuring water availability, strengthening of protection mechanism and several other works, the outlay for forest and wildlife is very poor.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Chanda boy Dr Vipin Itankar is UPSC topper in State

Image
12-06-14 * Efficiency and effectiveness are the keywords for the topper * Nagpur lads Aawesh Titarmare, Arpit Gudadhe, and Ankur Meshram also bring laurels to the region in UPSC examination results By Kartik Lokhande  “I am blessed. Vipin is extremely hard-working, dedicated and a confident guy I have ever met in my life. He was always at top since college days. I was confident that he would be in top ten in the UPSC examination as well.” (Centre) Dr Vipin Itankar, who secured 14th rank nationally and topped Maharashtra in UPSC Civil Services Examination-2013 results, celebrating with his family members in Chandigarh on Thursday. This is how Dr Shalini, wife of Dr Vipin Vithoba Itankar, reacted on learning that Vipin had emerged as the Maharashtra topper in Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) examination. Talking to ‘The Hitavada’ over telephone from Chandigarh, where Vipin and Shalini work in Government Medical College and Hospital in Sector 32, both express
Read more

Hinganghat: Here rests the great surveyor of India...

Image
  By Kartik Lokhande  Often, the work of explorers lives on but they get buried in the history. This is exactly what has happened in case of Lt Col William Lambton. The man credited with initiating one of the greatest scientific activities in the world -- The Great Trigonometrical Survey of India -- lays buried at a place now known as ‘Kala Gota’ amid a crowded locality behind Bus Stand in the town of Hinganghat in Wardha district. Sadly, the memorial of this great surveyor, whose work led to measuring the highest point on Earth 50 years later, has become a victim of neglect. And, surprisingly, not many know about it and the great significance of Hinganghat in the landmark survey.  Lambton Memorial, known locally as 'Kala Gota' in Hinganghat. (Pic: Kartik Lokhande) Lt Col William Lambton The benchmark stone of Great Trigonometrical Survey, in the courtyard of a house behind Bus Stand in Hinganghat. (Pic by Kartik Lokhande) Lt Col William La
Read more

Eknath Ranade, the man with ‘Rock’ solid determination

* November 2015 marks the culmination of birth centenary celebrations of Eknath Ranade, a son of Vidarbha who made it the cause of his life to realise the dream of Vivekananda Rock Memorial at Kanyakumari By Kartik Lokhande  It was 1962, a year that had stirred the atmosphere in the country owing to several factors including a war with China. In January 1963, India was to celebrate the birth centenary of Swami Vivekananda. In down south, in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, tension was in the air over Swami Vivekananda’s memorial. There were attempts by some to claim the Rock off the shores of Tamil Nadu where Vivekananda meditated. A firm leadership is required to navigate through little storms in the journey towards realisation of a goal. Eknath Ranade, a man born in village Timtala in Amravati district of Vidarbha region in Maharashtra, was destined to be that firm leader as far as Swami Vivekananda’s memorial at Kanyakumari. Born on November 19, 1914, Eknath Ranade was the you
Read more