Jharkhand Journal of Development and Management StudiesXISS, Ranchi, Vol. 19, No. 2, April-June 2021, pp. 8771-8784

THE QUEST FOR A SEPARATE VIDARBHA STATEHOODDURING AND POST COVID-19 PANDEMIC: A REFLECTION

Pradnyasurya Shende1

The demand for a separate Vidarbha State is a long lasting one inIndia. It is remembered to provide constitutional guarantee to theregional backwardness. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought thequestion of regional disparity at the forefront. The paper is builtlargely from the secondary data and literature on the subjectdomain. It attempts to present the historicity of Vidarbha’sbackwardness and explores post Covid-19 pandemic implicationsfor statehood demand of Vidarbha in the forthcoming reversemigration crisis. Key findings suggest that the persistingdevelopment backlog has kept the bar of backwardness at a highlevel in the Vidarbha region and reverse migration caused by theCOVID-19 pandemic has also long run adverse implications on thedemographic dividend. Therefore, breaking the deadlock of thereverse migration crisis would serve as an initial step towardsensuring justice to the regional development in general and demandfor separate Vidarbha State in particular.

Keywords : Separate Vidarbha statehood, Backwardness, Reversemigration, Regional development

Introduction

The demand for a separate Vidarbha State is a long-lasting onein India. This article attempts to answer the two questions such ashow the reverse migration crisis caused by COVID-19 pandemic canbe understood by using the experience of Vidarbha’s backwardness?Will an attempt to break this deadlock serve be the initial step towardsensuring justice to the question of regional disparity in general anddemand for separate Vidarbha state in particular? So, the study becomesan important to know the historicity of Vidarbha is backwardness.

The COVID-19 is a serious global health crisis of the 21st century.Its first publicly acknowledged outbreak was in December, 2019 due todirect exposure in a seafood wholesale market in Wuhan city of HubeiProvince in China (Kannan, Ali, Sheeza & Hemalatha, 2020; Sahoo,Mandal, Mishra & Banerjee, 2020). Soon after it was declared as PublicHealth Emergency of International Concern during second meeting of

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1 Doctoral Research Scholar in Social Work at Tata Institute of Social Sciences(TISS), Mumbai,India-400088 Email: pradnyasuryashende@gmail.com,pradnyasurya.shende201 @tiss.edu

This paper is based on the review of literature of ongoing Doctoral ResearchStudy titled 'Interrogating Demands for New States in India: Locating the VidarbhaMovement in Contemporary Politics.'

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International Health Regulations (2005) Emergency Committeeconvened by World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General on2020, January 30 and global pandemic on 2020, March 11 by WHO(World Health Organization, 2020; Chauhan, 2020). The first case ofCOVID-19 pandemic in India was reported on 2020, January 30 (Bhagat,Reshmi, Sahoo, Roy & Govil, 2020) in Kerala.

Following this, lockdown in the entire country was announcedon 2020, March 24 by the government of India. Initially, it was for aperiod of 21 days (Bhagat, Reshmi, Sahoo, Roy & Govil, 2020) whichwas extended till 2020, May 31. The government has classified 130districts as red zones (Hotspot area), 284 districts as orange zones,and 319 districts as green zones, on 2020, May 1. All 11 regions ofDelhi and other metropolitan cities, including Mumbai, Bengaluru,Hyderabad, Chennai, and Kolkata were marked as red zones (Nair,2020; Sahoo, Mandal, Mishra & Banerjee, 2020). Alongside this, borderswere sealed, transportation got stopped, factories, shops, restaurantsand all types of economic activities were shut, barring only the essentialservices to avoid inconvenience for the citizens (Bhagat, Reshmi, Sahoo,Roy & Govil, 2020) and resulted into “mass exodus of migrant workersfrom destination centres (primarily urban) to the source centres in anattempt to escape the starvation and dwindled access to essential items”(Sikdar & Mishra, 2020, p.3). Eventually, it has proved to be anightmare for hundreds of thousands of migrant workers. They hadlost their livelihoods overnight and became homeless (Bhagat, Reshmi,Sahoo, Roy & Govil, 2020).

The shutting-down of all types of economic activities duringCOVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a labour/employment marketdeadlock. Now, migrant and informal sector workers are in dilemmawhether they will retain previous jobs, how would they sustain theirfamilies and take care of children during and post COVID-19 pandemicwith and without job, what would be the future of their family andchildren in post COVID-19 pandemic etc. These anxieties even becomegrave when India’s quarterly Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growthhas constantly fallen down since the fourth quarter of Financial Year2018-19 (The Economic Times, 2019) on one hand and regionaldevelopment disparity is continuously fueling migration on the otherhand.

Review of Literature

The 64th Round of NSS (2007-8) shows that nature of migrantworkers is either temporary or seasonal. Statistically speaking, 21 outof every 1000 migrants are classified as temporary or seasonal migrants

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(Government of India, 2008b; Keshri & Bhagat, 2013; Rajan, Sivakumar& Srinivasan, 2020). The regional disparity, lack of job opportunity,or underemployment source centres, as well as chronic poverty, weakeducation system and skill mismatch, etc; are primary reasons for ahigh internal migration in India. Furthermore, destination areas doprovide them employment opportunities. However, a disproportionateshare of these labourers more often than not, reside and moreover,they work as informal workers in dismal conditions. After all, theymanage to have none or very small amounts of savings. However,these small savings meant they did not have a ‘buffer’ to deal with the‘short term uncertainties’ brought on by the pandemic (Sikdar &Mishra, 2020).

The COVID-19 pandemic has “caught countries across the worldoff guard, resulting in widespread lockdowns that clamped down onmobility, commercial activities and social interactions” (Rajan,Sivakumar & Srinivasan, 2020, p.1) and “brought on by sudden collapseof employment and lack of effective social protection mechanisms”(Sikdar & Mishra, 2020, p.3). Adding to this, COVID-19 pandemic hasalready crept deeper into the labour market. It has caused widespreaddisruptions across the globe. It has affected supply chain and demandand caused labour markets to shrink. The disruptions in productionhave created ripples in the bottom of the chain. It has affected thelabour and resulted in deeper shocks and vulnerability. Similarly, allbusiness entities regardless of the volume of business were forced tostop and resulted in job losses in most of the sectors. Even they did notget sufficient time to send their employees proper intimation notice.Most of them even did this via social media platforms. This has actedas labour market shock that has deeply impacted the migrants (Rajan,Sivakumar & Srinivasan, 2020).

The pandemic has triggered a severe ‘crisis of mobility’ in India.The migrant labourers in many major cities were looking for returningto hometowns. Moreover, their desperate attempts to return home byany means available condensed the lockdown ineffective in severalareas. Indeed, this could be seen in prompting clashes with authorities,last-minute policy relief and, eventually, the arrangement of transportmeasures (Rajan, Sivakumar & Srinivasan, 2020). The migrantworkers have faced various challenges. Some of those immediate effectsare related to food, shelter, loss of wages, fear of getting infected andanxiety. As a result of this, thousands of them have started fleeingfrom various cities to their native places. Moreover, many migrantshave lost their lives either due to hardship on the way, hunger, accidentor comorbidity and some even committed suicide (Bhagat, Reshmi,Sahoo, Roy & Govil, 2020) due to various types of helplessness.

The sudden lockdown also stranded many migrants in differentcities of the country. Despite this, some of them have dared to leave fornative villages. Prior to this, they didn’t even think much for travelplans. Those who were travelling were stuck up at stations or state ordistrict borders and waited for public or private transport to get themboarded for native villages and get clearance from the administrationrespectively. Many were forced to walk hundreds of miles on foot (IndiaToday, 2020; Bhagat, Reshmi, Sahoo, Roy & Govil, 2020) alone or withor without family with or without carrying minimum luggage requiredfor the sustenance to reach their home villages finding no publictransport.

The migrant labourers, those who managed to reach their nativevillages, were seen as potential carriers of the infection. Moreover,they were ill-treated by the police and locals and underwent severalscrutiny, interrogation and harassments also from neighbors, friends,relatives etc. Adding to this, cases of social boycott, abuses, and assaultswere also gone unreported in the country. Similarly, a group of returneeswere sprayed with chemicals to disinfect them for which the localadministration apologized (India Today, 2020; Bhagat, Reshmi, Sahoo,Roy & Govil, 2020) for their action.

The phenomenon of reverse migration will affect different statesdifferently. For example, local workers may benefit from the reversemigration in the form of better employment opportunities due to thereverse migration in well-off states. On the other hand, poorest stateswill further suffer as the labour pool will set to bulge in adisproportionate way and this will affect the employment prospects(Dreze, 2020; Rajan, Sivakumar & Srinivasan, 2020). This wholescenario has brought changes in (labour) migration in general andlabour/ employment sector in particular in India. It has also a strongconnection with regional disparity in general and demand for separateVidarbha state in particular where migration has remained one of thecrucial factors even today. So, it becomes important to know thehistoricity of Vidarbha’s backwardness.

Marathi speaking area of Central-Berar Province i.e. Vidarbhaofficially became part of Maharashtra on 1960, May 1 “due to politicalexigencies then and in good faith that interest of economic well-beingof Vidarbha will be protected and hoped that people speaking thesame language will form cohesive units for rapid and balanceddevelopment” (Pitale, 2009, p.281). Infact, this merger was doneafter the seventh constitutional amendment i.e. article 371(2) in 1956.The first Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Late Shri YashwantraoChavan has tabled the Bombay Reorganization Bill, 1960. He has

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assured the people of Vidarbha while debating the bill thatprovisions of Article 371(2) would be implemented and if Vidarbhawould continue to remain in Maharashtra then it will be givenmore than its equitable share. Based on this assurance, Vidarbhahas continued to remain with Maharashtra even after the formationof Gujarat state (Government of Maharashtra, 2013). But, thisassurance was systematically sidelined in the following years bythe government of Maharashtra that has affected the developmentin the Vidarbha region and demand for separate Vidarbha hassurfaced during early 80s. It has drawn the attention of the governmentto take concrete steps before bursting-off people’s feelings. Indeed, theDandekar Committee was formed to address the backwardness ofVidarbha in 1983.

Following the recommendation of committees in subsequentyears, the government had spent Rs. 3155.72 crore between 1984and 1994, for removal of backlog in three regions of state namelyVidarbha, Marathwada, and Rest of Maharashtra (RoM). But,this expenditure didn’t remove the backlog in backward areas dueto lack of implementation strategy in a time-bound manner(Government of India, 2003). This has made way clear for demand forseparate Vidarbha state to persist in the following years whichwas technically muted through article 371(2) of Constitution in 1956.In fact, COVID-19 pandemic has brought twist in the politics over thedemand for separate Vidarbha state through the crisis in theemployment sector. It has pushed migrant and informal sector workersto get caught between the struggle of getting accommodated in theemployment sector on one hand and tug-of-war of state to revive theeconomy on the other hand during and post COVID-19 pandemic. Themigrant and informal sector workers have a significant proportion inthe overall workforce of the country and are important drivers in thefunctioning of the economy. Therefore, ensuring meaningful andsustainable employment during and post COVID-19 is not only aquestion of migrants and informal sector workers per se but also justiceto the regional disparity. Thus, locating the demand for separateVidarbha state within the reverse migration crisis in the aftermath ofCOVID-19 pandemic would be the theoretical contribution do justicewith the question of regional development disparity in India in generaland demand for separate Vidarbha state in post- COVID-19 pandemicin particular.

Objective

The objective of this paper is to explore the implications in thedemand for a separate Vidarbha State.

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Research Methodology

Author has adopted both qualitative and quantitative researchmethods to collect the data using a descriptive research design. This islargely drawn from the secondary data focusing on the backwardnessof Vidarbha and long lasting demand for separate Vidarbha state alongwith the contemporary migration crisis in the light of COVID-19pandemic. Adding to this, field experiences, observations and someexcerpts from in-depth interviews conducted during the data collectionof ongoing doctoral research study are also used to support the centralargument in the paper.

Findings and Analysis

Development Gap

The poor performance of sectoral growth and development leadto the development gap. The report of the Kelkar Committee publishedin 2013 has measured the development deficit across regions based onfive sectoral outcome indicators. The proportional development deficitof three regions is 39 per cent in Vidarbha, 37 per cent in Marathwadaand 24 per cent in RoM respectively (see Table 1). The Vidarbha’sdevelopment deficit is 2 per cent higher than its counterpart ofMarathwada region. But, variation can be seen in individual indicatorsof sectoral outcome between the regions.

Table-1. Development Gap (Proportions)

Parameter Weights Vidarbha Marathwada Rest ofMaharashtra

1 2 3 4 5Connectivity 0.02 0.43 0.31 0.26Education & Skill 0.20 0.36 0.38 0.25DevelopmentHealth 0.20 0.41 0.36 0.23Credit Availability 0.20 0.36 0.37 0.27Power 0.20 0.38 0.43 0.19Development Gap 1.00 0.39 0.37 0.24

Source: Government of Maharashtra, 2013, p. 5.

Registration of Udyog Aadhaar Micro, Small, MediumEnterprises (MSMEs)

The proportion of Udyog Aadhaar indicates willingness of a smallor medium enterprise to take benefit from all government schemes.The Directorate of Industries, Government of Maharashtra has stated

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that 14.90 lakh MSMEs were registered for Udyog Aadhaar between2015, October and 2019, December. Among these, 13.10 lakh weremicro, 1.73 lakh were small and 0.07 lakh were medium enterprisesrespectively. While, total investment of MSMEs was 213400 crore and78.92 lakh employment was generated out of it. At the outset, thisshare of Vidarbha region for MSMEs registered for Udyog Aadhaarwas about 16.2 per cent. Employment share of Vidarbha is 10.4 percent and investment share is 11.1 per cent (see Table 2). Amaravatidivision has continued to perform low in MSMEs registered for UdyogAadhaar, employment and investment as compared to Nagpur division.

Table-2. Region Wise Udyog Aadhaar MSMEs

Region Udyog Aadhaar MSMEs Employment Investment

Number Share Share Number Share Amount(per cent) (Lakh) (per cent) (MCrore) (per cent)

Mumbai* 3,05,195 20.5 18.73 23.7 37,641 17.6Konkan (Excl. Mumbai) 3,22,933 21.7 17.53 22.2 43,653 20.5Nashik 1,31,371 8.8 6.52 8.2 23,255 10.9Pune 3,36,317 22.6 20.41 25.9 62,575 29.3Aurangabad 1,52,955 10.2 7.56 9.6 22,604 10.6Amravati 59,346 4.0 2.28 2.9 6,971 3.3Nagpur 1,82,085 12.2 5.89 7.5 16,701 7.8

Total 14,90,202 100.0 78.92 100.0 2,13,400 100.0

Source: Economic Survey of Maharashtra-2019-2020, p.135.

Performance of Special Economic Zones (SEZs)

The establishment and distribution of SEZs within theparticular region indicate the present path and set future economicdevelopment goals for it. The Directorate of Industries, Governmentof Maharashtra have stated that proposals have been receivedupto 2019, October in all 251 SEZs. Among these, 30 SEZs wereexecuted in an area of 4231 ha. with total investment of 36352 croreand employment of about 5.94 lakh (see Table 3). At the outset it isimportant to note that Amaravati division of Vidarbha region didnot have even single proposal, so that employment and investmentwent nil. While, 2 SEZs (6.66 per cent) were executed in an area of1699 ha. (40.15 per cent) with total investment of 7700 crore (21.18per cent) and employment of about 0.01 lakh in Nagpur division, whichis also for Vidarbha region. Thus, an area on which SEZs are executedin the state is highest in Vidarbha region despite nil performance ofAmaravati division and investment and employment were inverselyproportional to each other.

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Table-3. Area, Employment and Investment of Executed SEZs

Division Number Area Employment Investment(ha) (Lakh) (MCrore)

Konkan 9 421 2.50 9,173Pune 15 729 2.02 13,612Nashik 1 1,007 1.25 1,380Aurangabad 3 375 0.16 4,487Amravati 0 0 0 0Nagpur 2 1,699 0.01 7,700Maharashtra 30 4,231 5.94 36,352

Source: Economic Survey of Maharashtra-2019-2020, p.136.

Contribution of Maharashtra Industrial DevelopmentCorporation (MIDC) in Employment Generation

The Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC)has remained one of the crucial employment sources in the unorganizedsector. It is stated that 50788 units were on record as of 2019, December,2020. The investment and potential employment in these units were1,94,011 crore and 15.08 lakh respectively (see Table 4). It is importantto note that about 72 per cent of 96637 developed plots were allotted toentrepreneurs for the said period in the state. As far as Vidarbha regionis concerned, the total number of units in Vidarbha is 6277. Itconstitutes 12.35 per cent. The total investment across units ofVidarbha was 25706 crores. It constitutes 14.2 per cent of the State’sinvestment. The employment generated out of the units in Vidarbhawas 1.47 lakh. It constitutes 9.7 per cent. Lastly, the total number ofdeveloped plots in Vidarbha was 18398. It constitutes 19.03 per cent.

Table-4. Industrial Units in MIDC -as on 31st December, 2019Division Units Investment Employment Development

(no.) (MCrore) (Lakh) (no.)

Mumbai 1,012 20,685 1.39 9,131Konkan (Excl. Mumbai) 13,745 51,129 4.46 13,184Nashik 8,589 8,131 1.03 9,152Pune 13,402 76,522 5.91 26,971Aurangabad 7,763 11,838 0.82 19,801Amravati 2,524 7,772 0.38 8,893Nagpur 3,753 17,934 1.09 9,505Total 50,788 1,94,011 15.08 96,637

Source: Economic Survey of Maharashtra-2019-2020, p.139.

Thus, it is clear from tables 2 to 4 that poor investment in theindustrial units and business of the region has remained one majorcause behind poor industrial development in the region. If investmentwould have increased then production would have increased and it

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might lead to employment generation. But, the region has basicallyfailed to attract the investors to invest and hence it has affected theemployment generation in the region in the informal sector. This ishappening due to unfavorable environment and unviability of rawmaterial needed for industrial development. Moreover, this is also foundin case with the employment scenario across staff grades.

Employment Backlog

Employment Backlog is one of the indicators to highlight themagnitude of unemployment. Based on the data of Directorate ofEconomics & Statistics, Government of Maharashtra for the year 2008shows that average share of total vacant positions across staff gradesin Vidarbha was 25.8 per cent. However, this share was higher incontractual/temporary workers as prescribed by Directorate ofEconomics & Statistics and second highest as compared to other regions.This also includes Contractual/Temporary Workers (see Table 5).

Table- 5. Region wise Vacant Positions

Region Staff GradeA B C D E* Total

1 2 3 4 5 6 7Rest of Maharashtra 3057 8126 44506 12132 11229 79050% to total 58.2 62.0 62.5 59.9 48.8 59.5Marathwada 775 1913 9875 2874 4149 19586% to total 14.8 14.6 13.9 14.2 18.0 14.7Vidarbha 1419 3071 16861 5260 7642 34253% to total 27.0 23.4 23.7 26.0 33.2 25.8Total 5251 13110 71242 20266 23020 132889

Source: Government of Maharashtra, 2013, p.470

Discussion

In the view of increased backlog, the Report of Fact FindingTeam has clearly pointed out that, areas especially Vidarbha weresystematically neglected by the government of Maharashtra and moreimportantly, its resources were diverted and used for the benefit ofRoM (Pitale, 2010). While, the remaining backlog as on 2005 March31, is Rs.8238.94 crore at 1994 prices and would be Rs.14434.64 croreat 2003-04 prices. It is a result of the lack of implementation of theprevious directives of the Governor (Government of India, 2006). Addingto this, a report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India(2006-07) has pointed out that the Governor’s Directives were notfollowed by the Government of Maharashtra and thus due share of

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Vidarbha’s development fund was diverted to Western Maharashtraand north Maharashtra. As a result of this, Vidarbha’s backlog haskept on piling and now has become an irreversible regional imbalance.At the outset of this, it is important to note that 70 per cent of Vidarbha’sdevelopment fund was robbed. The provision for irrigation made bythe Governor was Rs. 3119.79 crore. But the Government ofMaharashtra has allotted only Rs. 1391.58 crore. As a result of thisbacklog of Rs. 2528 crore was deposited (Pitale, 2010; Aney, 2016).This overall scenario has led to an uninterrupted development backlogand did not draw the attention of the Governor until 2009-10. Based onthe Governor’s Directive dated on 2011, May 31, High Level Committeeon Balanced Regional Development was formed under the Chairmanshipof Dr. Vijay Kelkar (Government of Maharashtra, 2013). ThisCommittee is also known as Kelkar Committee. It submitted its reportin 2013.

The above experience shows that provisions of article 371(2) ofthe Constitution are diluted on various grounds. It clearly indicates‘dual treatment’ that Vidarbha region has received during differentregimes in state government and ensured an abstraction for Vidarbhato get due share in state’s resources and development fund. In theview of this, “non-implementation of Nagpur Pact (1953) by leadersfrom Western Maharashtra is one of the foremost reasons for absenceof development in Vidarbha” (Aney, 2016, p.14).

While, backwardness of the region didn’t ensure that moreemployment opportunities for the region would come throughgeographical justice measures. Employment seekers left with only theoption of migration. Indeed, migration and regional disparities arestrongly connected with each other (Das & Saha, 2013). In connectionto this, theory of volume of migration which states an inverselyproportional relationship between volume of migration within a giventerritory and degree of diversity of areas included in that territory(Lee, 1966) and studies like Das and Saha (2013) on Inter-state migrationand regional disparities in India have also drawn inferences from this.Nevertheless, economic criteria is the basic motive behind most of themigration (Das & Saha, 2013).

The pattern of inter-state migration and the reasons behind this,altogether, shows that disparities in regional development primarilydrive migration (Das & Saha, 2013). Nevertheless, certain urbancentres especially administrative capitals within more developed statesnamely, Delhi, Maharashtra, Gujarat, etc., have become the primerecipient of inter-state migrants from other resource-poor, andundeveloped states. In connection to this, long-distance, across state

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migration, particularly from rural to urban areas cannot be expectedto be a choice, instead an escape. Nevertheless, this is the largest streamof migration for inter-state movement (Sikdar & Mishra, 2020).Moreover, studies like, Mukherji (1991) have also supported this.Indeed, it has been argued that, underdevelopment, poverty, spatialdisorganization, regional disparities, social inequalities, ruralstagnation, rural neglect and unbalanced regional development overnational space are still very much linked with the interstate migrationof males for employment. Similarly, this is also applicable to femalesas well (Mukherji, 1991; Sikdar & Mishra, 2020).

The persisting backwardness has paved way to the migrationand hence employment or job seekers have migrated to various partsof the state and even country. This given scenario has adverseimplications on the demographic dividend of the Vidarbha region. It isin this regard, participant-ABC (name changed)1 said that,“demographic dividend has positive and negative impacts. But, theregion had been exposed to negative consequences. For example, thetotal number of MPs and Vidhansabha MLAs of the region are reducedfrom 11 to 10 and from 66 to 62 respectively as per the Reorganizationof Loksabha and Vidhansabha Constituencies in 2004. It is sad to seethat people of the region who used to elect 1 MP and 4 VidhansabhaMLAs had already migrated.”

Nevertheless fear is attached to this because “when Indiaremains full of a young population, then there will be an old agepopulation in the Vidarbha region”, added participant-DEF (namechanged).3Indeed, this certainly indicates the development withoutyouths.

Conclusions and Recommendations

It is clear from the above discussion that persisting inadequateallocation of funds for various development sectors and discrepanciesin its utilization/expenditure led to the foundation of backwardness inVidarbha region. Furthermore, development gap, low registration forUdyog Aadhaar MSMEs, poor presence of SEZs, poor performance ofMIDC in employment generation, and employment backlog have builtdome on this and ensured the migration in the Vidarbha region. TheCOVID-19 pandemic has made this situation even worse due to thereverse migration crisis. Now, the country in general and the Vidarbharegion in particular is witnessing a deadlock in the employment sectorthat has fundamentally confronted the idea of justice to the regionaldevelopment in India. The historicity of Vidarbha’s backwardnesscertainly helps to understand and analyze the interconnectivity between

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economic backwardness, migration and reverse migration crisis causeddue to COVID-19 pandemic and way forward. Because, this deadlockis neither healthy for the demographic dividend nor employment sectorin India. Therefore, breaking this deadlock and addressing the reasonsbehind the backwardness will be an initial step towards ensuring justiceto the question of regional development in general and demand forseparate Vidarbha state in particular. Author has the followingrecommendations to make in this regard:

(i) The government has to encourage and facilitate governanceinstitutions at various levels in exploring employmentopportunities within their jurisdiction. Similarly, it has todesign a plan for integration and distribution of availablestate, centre and Public Private Partnership (PPP)sponsored employment generation policies, programmes andservices until the economy gets fully recovered and has tomonitor this very strictly.

(ii) The development backlog suggested for backward orunderdeveloped regions across the country by variouscommittees and commissions has become outdated. Theyhave no place in the contemporary discussion and wayforward for justice to regional development in India ingeneral and demand for separate Vidarbha State inparticular. Therefore, the government has to be notified ofthe mechanism to study and measure the new developmentbacklog for backward regions across the country in generaland Vidarbha in particular at the earliest.

(iii) Based on the advanced estimate of the development backlog,the government has to carry out the backward regiondevelopment programme with special preference to theemployment generation very extensively as guaranteedunder the Article 371(2) of Constitution.

(iv) The government has to ensure the improvement of ‘ease ofdoing business mechanism index’ in India in general andbackward regions like Vidarbha in particular. It is in thisregard, the Government of Maharashtra’s initiatives like‘Magnetic Maharashtra’ can serve the role of catalyst toattract the investors for investment to sign Memorandumof Understanding (MoUs) with government and otherbusiness partners and invest in already placedestablishments, businesses and industrial units without anyhesitation and will also open new establishments preferablyin the backward regions like Vidarbha.

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Endnotes

1 He belongs to Chandrapur District of Vidarbha region in Maharashtra andserved as Minister of State, Government of Maharashtra.

2 He is Nagpur city based Core Committee Member of Vidarbha Rajya AndolanSamittee (VRAS).

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