A NATION BUILDER - Maharashtra Gov

STATE BUDGET 2015-16 � INTERVIEW: PRAKASH JAVADEKAR �RATNAGIRI ALPHONSO � ELEPHANTA CAVES

V O L . 4 I S S U E 4 � A P R I L 2 0 1 5 � ` 5 0 � PA G E S 5 2

IN A TRIBUTE TO INDIA’S FOREMOST JURIST, ECONOMIST, POLITICIAN, SOCIAL REFORMERAND SCHOLAR, WE VISIT THE LIFE OF BHARAT RATNA DR. B.R. AMBEDKAR

AA NNAATTIIOONN BBUUIILLDDEERR

The advent of a New Year heralds newhopes, new dreams and opportunitiesof prosperity and wish fulfillment. In

Maharashtra, the first day of spring iscelebrated as Gudi Padwa or the New Year.The festival was celebrated on March 21 thisyear. Falling on the first day of the Chaitramonth in the Hindu calendar, it is a time tobid adieu to the old and usher in the new, atime of rejuvenation and rejoicing.

There aremanymyths and folkloresassociated with Gudi Padwa. According toHindumythology, on this day, Lord Brahmacreated the universe. It is also believed that itwas on this day that Lord Rama killed Bali. Itis one of the three-and-a-half days in theHindu calendar when each and everymoment of the day is auspicious.

Gudi Padwa also marks several ritualsand customs. A bamboo staff or gudi iserected in front of the house. A new cloth isthen tied to it and a bright garlanded vesselis hung on top of it. This is symbolic ofachievement and is displayed to ward offevil and invite prosperity and good luck intothe house. The gudi is now worshipped andthe naivedyam (offerings) is distributedamong all the family members. The offeringis made out of tender neem leaves,tamarind, ajwain, gram-pulse and jaggery.According to popular belief, the mixturestrengthens one’s immunity system.

After waking up early in the morning,people clean their homes and decorate thefloors with beautifully drawn rangolis.Some keep a pot with coconuts, flowers andmango leaves just outside their home.They wear new clothes and make tastefulsweet dishes such as shrikhand andjalebis. Celebrations continue all day along.Sweets are distributed to neighbours andrelatives. In the evening, a visit is made tothe village temple and everyone prays forgood rains for the season ahead. Late in theevening, people get together to performand dance thus closing the Gudi Padwacelebrations on a high note.

A joyousbeginningGudi Padwa,the firstday of theNew Year, isan auspiciousday to startnew ventures

14PROFILELEADERWITHACAUSEThe principal architect of India’sconstitution, Bharat RatnaDr. B.R. Ambedkar had manytitles. One not much talked aboutis of a scholar. We visithis life to know his journey

22IN PERSONPRAKASH JAVADEKARAn interview with UnionEnvironment Minister who talksabout the initiatives taken by theMinistry of Environment andForests, and how it aims atbuilding a people-friendly image

24PHOTO FEATURETARAPOREVALAAQUARIUMMumbai’s 64-year-old aquariummakes a comeback afterrenovations and additions. A visitto city’s famous landmark andwhat new it has on offer

32FACE-TO-FACEGIRISHMAHAJANMinister for Water Resources andGuardian Minister of Nashik,Girish Mahajan talks about theGovernment’s efforts to make theupcoming Kumbh Mela a grand,environment-friendly show for all

CONTENTSWHAT’S INSIDE

D ISCLA IMER : V IEWS AND OP IN IONS EXPRESSED IN THE MAGAZ INE ARE THOSE OF WR ITERS

34NUMBER ONEAGIFTEDVARIETYRatnagiri Alphonso, the saffroncoloured mango, is called ‘King offruits’ due to its rich creamy taste.One of India’s best exports, thevariety, with the GI status, is wellplaced on popularity charts

36WANDERLUSTBEAUTY IN STONEResplendant with rich, rock-cutsculptures of Lord Shiva, the cavecomplex of Elephanta in Mumbaiis a dynamic piece of ancientIndian architecture attractingvisitors from across the world

40HERITAGETHEUNDEFEATEDFORTMaharashtra is home to forts builtby various rulers down the ages.We visit Murud’s Janjira Jal-durgin the first column of ournew series on the monuments

48INFORMATION EXCHANGETETE-A-TETEMinisters in the MaharashtraGovernment talk on womenequality, environmentconservation and commitmentto inclusive development andthe launch of Mahaop

MAHARASHTRA AHEAD � APRIL 2015 03

COVER STORY

ABUDGETFORALLThe maiden annual budget of the current MaharashtraGovernment lays special focus on agriculture and rural development,infrastructure and decentralised industrial development.With efforts at taking the expenditure to `40,000 crore, it is aimedat boosting the State economy and turning it around

05

VOL. 4 ISSUE 4 � APRIL 2015 � `50 � PAGES 52

At the outset we extend New Year greetings to the readers ofMaharashtra Ahead. In Maharashtra, the New Year is celebrated on thefirst day of the Hindu calendar month Chaitra as Gudi Padwa. We

hope our readers celebrated the festival with gaiety.

April is when India enters a new financial year. It is the time when the countryand its States adopt a new Budget to serve the needs of people and to launchschemes that give wings to their aspirations.

The Budget, presented by Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, focuses on“Together with all, Development for all.” Notwithstanding the constraints oflimited resources, the public debt of `3 lakh crore and the revenue deficit of`13,883 crore (revised estimates for 2014-15) the Government has expressed itsresolve to take Maharashtra on the path of progress. Chief Minister Devendra

Fadnavis called the Budget “daring”. He said the Budgethas taken a quantum jump in capital expenditure. Farmersaffected by drought are the prime focus of this Budget.Provision of `1,000 crore for Jalyukta Shivar Abhiyanand irrigation projects, and funds to various welfareschemes like the Mukhya Mantri Grameen MargYojana, Aamdar Adarsh Gaon Vikas Yojana, DigitalMaharashtra and Bhagyashree Yojana, make theBudget inclusive and supportive of State’s megaprogrammes like Make in Maharashtra.

In other sections, we have an essay on the life ofBharat Ratna Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar. In her piece,historian Ananya Vajpeyi visits the life of eminent

Indian jurist, economist, politician and social reformer, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. Notmany are aware that the principal architect of the Constitution of India was ascholar as much as a politician, and wrote several books. In her piece,she visits the many facets of his life.

The first column in the series of forts in Maharashtra, historian, writer andorator, Ninad Bedekar talks about the sea fort, Janjira Jal-durg. One of India’sbest exports, Ratnagiri Alphonso, the magnificent caves of Elephanta and thejust renovated Taraporevala Aquarium in Mumbai make this edition a delight.Hope you enjoy the edition as much as we enjoyed putting it together.

Maharashtra Ahead, an English monthly, is effectively presenting innovativeschemes and development works of the State Government outside Maharashtra.Our web portal, Mahanews has been visited by about two crore netizens.Jai Maharashtra on Sahyadri channel (Doordarshan) has so far completed742 episodes. Dilkhulas programme on Aakashwani has successfullyaired 2,241 episodes. Over the years, the programmes have establishedthemselves as strong platforms taking Government’s initiatives to people atlarge. We look forward to your feedback.

Manisha Patankar-Mhaiskar

Editor-in-Chief, Maharashtra Ahead, DGIPR

A PROGRESSIVE,INCLUSIVE BUDGET

The farmer-friendly Budgetalso covers otherweaker sectionsof Maharashtra.The State Budgetfocuses onthe slogan,“Together withall, Developmentfor all”

FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFManisha Patankar-Mhaiskar

MANAGING EDITORChandrashekhar Oak

ASSIGNMENT EDITORDevendra Bhujbal

EDITORKirti Pande

EXECUTIVE EDITORKriti Lalla

TEAM CO-ORDINATIONEDITING

Suresh Wandile(Deputy Director)

ADMINISTRATIONDigamber Palve

(Sr. Assistant Director)

SALES AND CIRCULATIONVilas Bodke

(Assistant Director)

MEDIA TRANSASIAASSOCIATE EDITOR

Jyoti Verma

ASSISTANT EDITORPallavi Singh

DEPUTY ART DIRECTORSachin Jain

CHAIRMANJ.S. Uberoi

PRESIDENTXavier Collaco

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Government of Maharashtra

The maiden budget of Devendra Fadnavis-led Government for 2015-16 presented byFinance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwarfocuses on “Togetherwithall,Development

for all,” the slogan given by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi for inclusive development. Not-withstanding the constraints of limited resources,the public debt of `3 lakh crore and the revenuedeficit of `13,883 crore (revised estimates for 2014-15), the Government has expressed its resolveto take Maharashtra, which continues to be the

COVER STORYSTATE BUDGET


OUTLAYS ANDOPPORTUNITIESThe maiden annual budget of the currentMaharashtra Government, termed as“daring” by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis,lays special focus on agriculture and ruraldevelopment, infrastructure and decentralisedindustrial development. It is aimed atboosting the State economy and turning it around.An analysis by TTeeaamm MMaahhaarraasshhttrraa AAhheeaadd

(From left) Minister of State (Finance) Deepak Kesarkar and State Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar before presenting the Budget

B

pre-eminent State in attracting investments, onthe path of progress.

ChiefMinister Devendra Fadnavis has termedthe budget as “daring”, and said that it will boostrural infrastructure in Maharashtra. “'We werehanded an economy in crisis. This Budget hastaken a quantum jump in capital expenditure. Wewill try to take the expenditure to `40,000 crore.This will help boost the State economy and turn itaround,” he added.

Devendra Fadnavis further said that theFinanceMinister has provided adequate funds forrural infrastructure, especially roads, and effortshave been made to focus on skill development,considering half of the State population is lessthan 25 years.

SudhirMungantiwar explained that theBudgetlays emphasis on giving the much needed push forthe growth of State economy (which is expected togrow at 5.7 per cent in 2014-15 against 7.3 per centin 2013-14), expedite the farm growth (which isestimated at minus 12.3 per cent) and irrigationdevelopment (command area rose to 3.26 millionhectare in 2013-14 from 2.44 million hectare in2012-13). The Government has spent `4,000 crorefrom its kitty towards compensation to farmersaffected by drought and has declared that it willprovide assistance to farmers hit by hailstorm anduntimely rain in various parts of Maharashtra.

An outlay of `7,272 crore has been made forwater resources development with a resolve tocomplete 38 irrigation projects. The Finance

06 MAHARASHTRA AHEAD � APRIL 2015 M

Minister has made it clear that no cut will beimposed on the proposed outlay. Nearly 700millioncubic litrewater storageswill be created and69,000hectare land will be brought under irrigation.

Further, to address the water scarcity issue,theGovernment proposes to implement JalayuktaShivar Abhiyan, which aims to collect the rain-water, ensure its percolation, increase thegroundwater table and thereby build up thewaterstorage in a decentralisedmanner.An allocation of`1,000 crore has been made.

Besides, the Government has allocated `2,400crore to spur rural development, while `970 crorehas been allocated on energisation of agriculturalpump sets. The Government has proposedimplementation of Mukhyamantri Gramin MargYojana with an allocation of `350 crore.

As far as industrial development is concerned,theGovernment has clearly indicated that it shouldspread industries across the State and not restrictit to Mumbai, Pune, Nashik and Aurangabad.Expressing Government’s resolve to carry outMake inMaharashtra on the lines ofMake in India,Sudhir Mungantiwar has assured simplified andeasier procedure, while obtaining variouspermissions. TheGovernment has already broughtdown such approvals to 25 from 75. Nearly `200crore has been allocated for land acquisition andrehabilitation for Mihan project near Nagpur.

The Finance Minister has given specialattention to women empowerment, especiallythrough promotion of self-help groups and smalland medium scale industries led by them. Ina serious bid to improve the quality of education,the Government plans to lay emphasis onevaluation of teachers and examination system.This is necessitated as out of the 100 students whojoin the elementary education, a paltry 12students pass out SSC examination on anaverage. The Government has assured that nochild is deprived of education, and has made anallocation of `1,609 crore for Sarv ShikshaAbhiyan, which aims at quality education andall round development of children in the age groupof 6 to 14 years.

Simultaneously, Sudhir Mungantiwar hasindicated that enough attention will be paid toimprove tax collection and efficiency ofGovernment employees, reduce revenue deficitand increase capital expenditure to `40,000 crore,so that self revenue generating assets can bedeveloped across the State.

The Finance Minister has projected a revenuedeficit of `3,757 crore by the end of 2015-16 and has


c

BUDGETALLOCATIONS� Governmenthas spent `4,000crore from itskitty towardscompensation todrought-affectedfarmers� `1,609 crorehas been allottedfor Sarv ShikshaAbhiyan, whichaims at qualityeducationand all rounddevelopment ofchildren in theage groupof 6-14 years� An outlay of`7,272 crore hasbeenmade forwater resourcedevelopmentwith a resolve tocomplete38 irrigationprojects� Proposedimplementationof MukhyamantriGramin MargYojana withan allocation of`350 crore

(From left) State Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar with Maharashtra Chief MinisterDevendra Fadnavis before presenting the Budget


Wewerehanded aneconomy in crisis.This Budgethas taken aquantum jumpin capitalexpenditure.Wewill try totake theexpenditure to`40,000 crore.This will helpboost the Stateeconomy andturn it around.—DevendraFadnavisChief Minister

corridors, the second phase of mono rail, andimprovements in the Bandra-Kurla Complex andWadala Truck Terminus.

Besides, an allocation of `906 crore has beenmade for works in fast-growing cities outsideMumbai coming under the Mumbai MetropolitanRegion (MMR). This is in linewithChiefMinister’srecent decision to give a necessary push fortransport and physical infrastructure in theMMRunder the special drive titled, MumbaiNext.Global consulting firm McKinsey has estimatedthat MMR is worth $250 billion economy.

Furthermore, the Government has realisedthat tourism sector needs to be given a boost andhas announced slew of proposals for itsdevelopment in various districts. In view of a vastcoastline of 720 km in the Konkan region, anoutlay of `42 crore has been proposed for beachtourism, while the multi-crore Sea World projectwill be developed in the coastal Sindhudurgdistrict. The Government will seek financialassistance from multilateral agencies, includingWorld Bank and Asian Development Bank, forthe time-bound implementation of Sindhudurgdistrict tourism plan.

On the abolition of local body tax (LBT),which has been largely opposed by traders,Sudhir Mungantiwar has announced that it willbe abolished fromAugust 1 in 25 municipal corpo-rations, excluding Brihanmumbai Municipal Cor-poration (BMC) where Octori Duty exists. TheGovernmentwill need `6,875 crore as compensationafter LBT’s abolition. The Government wants tomake the revenue loss by enhancing rate of taxunder ValueAdded Tax till the launch of LBT fromApril 1, 2016, as announced by the Centre. Arevenue neutral has been recommended, consider-ing the share of increased tax collection to be givento the areas where LBT is not levied.

However, Sudhir Mungantiwar has assuredthat decision in this regard will be taken after dueconsultationwith stakeholders and experts.As faras Octroi Duty collection of nearly `7,500 croreannually by BMC is considered, the FinanceMinister has hinted that the Government willappeal to the Centre for its continuation even afterthe launch of GST until a due compensation ofrevenue loss is ensured through legal provision.

Leading economist C.S. Despande has laudedGovernment’s initiatives to boost growth, espe-cially in the farm sector and skill development.However, he concludes that the Government couldhave outlined its vision forMaharashtra through aslew of reforms.

proposed new taxes worth `643 crore. There wereno changes in stamp duty in the first Budget of thecurrent Government. The annual plan for 2015-16has been pegged at `54,999 crore against`51,022.54 crore. The Government proposes tomonitor the utilisation of available funds throughevidence-based photography by setting up aseparate control roomatMantralaya. TheGovern-ment proposes to rope in companies like TCS,McKinsey and Deloitte for this.

Moreover, taking a cue from the Centre, theGovernment proposes to link various schemeswiththe bank account under JanDhanYojana,AadhaarandMobile number (JAM) and transfer the amountdirectly into the bank account of beneficiaries. Thisaims to cut the leakages and bring in transparency.

Mumbai’s development has been given a dueimportance. In its `3,832 crore Budget for 2015-16, the State undertaking Mumbai MetropolitanRegion Development has made an outlay of`2,050 crore, which is nearly 53 per cent, forworks in Mumbai city, including Metro railway



The team incharge of Budget 2015-16 has put in months of hardwork while making theannual financial plan. TTeeaamm MMaahhaarraasshhttrraa AAhheeaadd lists a few points made by the leaders

TARGET OVER EXPENDITURE

While making acommendable

enhancement in the capitalexpenditures in theBudget for this year, wehave placed emphasison creation of basic

infrastructure foragriculture and villagedevelopment. We haveconsidered the farmers,women, entrepreneurs andyouth and have alsomaintained appropriatebalance between rural andurban areas. Through this,the State will definitelygain economicacceleration. The aptprovision of ̀ 7,272 crore forirrigation, ̀ 3,000 crore forrural road developmentwith other developmentprovisions for total roadsamounting to ̀ 6,000 crore,`810 crore for SwachhBharat Abhiyan, ̀ 3,150crore for industry–tourismcommunityencouragement schemehas been done. With this,the Budget this yearstands out as one toprotect and preserve theinterests of common man.

The State Governmentwhile presenting this

Budget has honestly triedto make it more favourableand the handicapped,weaker sections, thedalits, the tribes,farmers, labours,the minoritiesshould feel thatthe Governmentcares for them.The Govern -ment has kept inview theinsights of theRural Develop -ment Concept ofrespected ShriTukdoji Maharaj,the social justiceas per the expectations ofDr. Babasaheb Ambedkar,the Antyodaya schemebased on the views ofPandit Dindayal Upadhyayand the progress of mydear sisters, the younggeneration which is stillunemployed even afterpursuing higher education,

the farmers, tribes and all.Currently, the State

bears a debt burden of over`3 lakh crore for which weare servicing an interestburden of over ̀ 24,000crore. The revenueimbalance poses achallenge on the financialmanagement of the State.The revenue deficit hasreached ̀ 13,883 crore. I amquite aware that if weutilise the loans and debtfor our regularexpenditures, we areforcing unjust burden onthe next generations. Tobring the revenue balanceback on track, I willdefinitely take some strongmeasures. We have tocreate capital assets for thenew generation.

If you analyse the lastyear’s budget, you will findthat although the plan wasfinalised at ̀ 51,022.54

crore, it is a factthat the fundswere not madeavailable tothat extent.Today, whilepresenting theplan of ̀ 54,999crore, I willdefinately tryto makeavailable eachand every pie ofit. Theutilisation of

the available funds will bedone with the clear viewthat we are the Trustees ofthe people of Maharashtraand therefore, today’sBudget is not expenditure-based Budget but it istarget-oriented Budget.

(Excerpts from theBudget Speech)

This is a Budgetfor overalldevelopment of the

State, from Chanda to

Banda,” was the reactionof Minister of State forFinance, Deepak Kesarkar.He added that theBudget has provided equaljustice to entireMaharashtra and nobodyhas been shown injustice.“In order to stop thecalamity looming onagriculture today and thesetbacks of this sector, weneed to createdecentralised waterstorage, huge facilities forirrigation, disastermanagement plans andmicro irrigation schemes.All these will acceleratethe development ofagricultural sector in a bigway,” he said.

“EQUAL JUSTICEFOR ENTIREMAHA RASHTRA”

SUDHIR MUNGANTIWARMinister, Finance and Planning

DEEPAK KESARKARMinister of State, Finance

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“RESOLVE FORAN ALLINCLUSIVEDEVELOPMENTALONE”

DEVENDRA FADNAVIS

Chief Minister

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“IT IS A TARGETORIENTEDBUDGET, NOT ANEXPENDITUREORIENTED ONE”

“Inorderto bringthe revenuebalance backon track, I willdefinitely takesome strongmeasures. Wehave to createcapital assetsfor the newgeneration”


GOVERNMENT PRIORITIES�Provision of stability to dryland farming, accelerateddevelopment of basicinfrastructure, warding offdisparity, facing risingurbanisation and emphasisingcreation of employmentavenues�Achieving revenuecompilation and introductionof stern measures for moreeffective capital expenditureVarious schemes foragriculture, positiveenvironment for industriesand business, excellent basicinfrastructure, effectiveutilisation of funds andconfidence to achieve adouble-digit development ratethrough valid economicmanagement.Loan freedom frommoneylenders:Provision of ̀ 171 crore forfreedom of loans for farmersfrom Vidarbha andMarathwada.

AGRICULTURAL SCHEMES� `1,000 crore given toJalyukta Shivar movement;`500 crore for building cementnallah dams�Funds to the extent of ̀ 100crore for maintenance ofMalgujari tanks in the districtsof Gadchiroli, Bhandara,Gondia and Chandrapur� Provision of ̀ 330 crore foran ambitious programme ofmicro-irrigation� Provision of ̀ 50 crore forMotiramji Lahane KrishiSamruddhi Yojana at Yavatmaldistrict. Under this, the agro-

mechanisation and other agroschemes will beamalgamated;� `700 crore for StateEmployment GuaranteeScheme and ̀ 1,948 crore forMGNREGA Scheme.Agricultural pump sets: `970crore given to energisation; apilot project of installation of7,540 solar agricultural pumpsets to be launched. It isexpected that farmers will getassured electricity supplyunder the scheme. � `336 crore for RashtriyaKrishi Vikas Yojana and ̀ 257crore for National FoodSecurity Mission, agriculturaldevelopment, technology andhorticulture movement.Financial assistance to beprovided to grape farmers topurchase Shednet forproviding protection fromhailstorms. � `140.92 crore formodernisation of AnimalHusbandry Institutes andFodder DevelopmentProgramme� Proposal to take measuresto scientifically preserveand develop good-quality,traditional and locallypreserved seeds bythe farmers through genebank system; ̀ 10 croreearmarked from theoutlay undistributed underPlanning Department.

IRRIGATIONFunds to the tune of ̀ 7,272crore to the Water ResourcesDepartment for time-boundproject implementation withaccurate technical andfinancial planning.

FISHERIES�Financial assistance of`13.25 crore for mechanisationof fisheries vessels throughNational CooperativeDevelopment Corporation.

�`20 crore for construction ofjetties under NABARD-assisted Rural InfrastructureDevelopmentFund undertaken in thedistricts of Sindhudurg,Ratnagiri, Raigad, Thane,Palghar and Mumbai.

ELECTRICITYThe Finance Minister has keptaside ̀ 535.34 crore forelectricity generation projectsin the Budget. About ̀ 538.83crore will be for building basicinfrastructure for improvingefficiency of ElectricalDistribution System-2, and`900 crore is for hydro-electricprojects. Special attention willbe provided to regions ofVidharbh and Marathwada, asthese areas have low level ofdevelopment.

SHELTER TO ALL � The Government has fixedtarget of constructing onelakh good-quality houses withtoilet facilities under theschemes of Indira AwasYojana, Ramai Awas Yojana,Shabari Adivasi GharkulYojana and Rajiv GandhiNivara Yojana using newtechnology; an outlay of`884.46 crore proposed. � In order to provideaffordable houses to slumdwellers and middle classfamilies, the StateGovernment will bring newhousing policy. It will be theendeavour of the StateGovernment that no person inthe State remains homeless bythe end of 2022; provision of

high-quality civic facilities tothe population in urban areas.The Government hascommitted ̀ 810 crore for theimplementation of Centre’sSwachh Bharat Abhiyaan inthe State.

CITY INFRASTRUCTURE� An outlay of ̀ 109.60 croreproposed for the Colaba-Bandra-Seepz Metro, and aspecial purpose vehicle (SPV)has been set up to giveimpetus to progress ofMumbai Metro Line 3 Project;Nagpur and Pune Metrorail projects to get ̀ 197.69crore and ̀ 174 .99 crore,respectively;� The newly launched SmartCities project to get ̀ 268 crore� In other announcements,`141 crore given to repair ofbuses and bus stations; ̀ 68.6for railway projects underconstruction; ̀ 91 crore fordevelopment, inspection andmaintenance of airstripsunder Maharashtra AirportDevelopment Corporation atOzar, Kolhapur, Akola, Shirdi,Karad, Amravati, Solapurand Chandrapur, amongothers; ̀ 200 crore for landacquisition and rehabilitationfor MIHAN project.� Municipal Corporationsencouraged to use bio-fuel fortransportation services; usageof E-taxis with lady drivers tobe promoted for conveyanceof school-going children.

INDUSTRY� The Government haslaunch ed ‘Make inMaha rashtra’ to retainState’s premium position inindustrial development andeconomic progress.� 25 mega projects, whichwere approved in 2014-15 andcreated job opportunities for13,988 persons, given ̀ 30,150crore in this Budget

BUDGET IN DETAIL

10 MAHARASHTRA AHEAD � APRIL 2015


MUMBAI FOCUS`2,050 crore given toMumbaiMetropolitan RegionDevelopment, for works inMumbai city, includingMetrorailway corridors, the secondphase of mono rail, andimprovements in the BandraKurla Complex andWadalaTruck Terminus.

TEXTILES`59.66 crore towards interestsubsidy of 5 to 7 per cent onlong-term loan of the eligibletextile industrial units in theState under the Textile Policy;additional `28 crore proposedtowards 10 per cent capitalsubsidy on the long-term loanof eligible textile industrialunits in Vidarbha,Marathwada and NorthMaharashtra; `1,232.53 crorepower subsidy to powerlooms

TOURISM� `3,150 crore for CommunityEncouragement Scheme; `50crore for preservation andsecurity of protected forts;� Establishment ofMaharashtra Nature TourismDevelopment Corporation;� `50 crore for creation ofwayside facilities for local andforeign tourists;� Konkan Gramin ParyatanVikas Programme: `42 crorefor beach tourism� `100 crore for developmentof Tadoba-Andhari Tigerintegratedwildlife protectedzone and tourism facilities atGorewada and Sanjay GandhiNational Park;�Creation of Uttamrao Patil

Forest Garden at everydistrict; `20 crore given toForest and EnvironmentCentre and NisargParichay Kendra plannedfor these parks

SKILL DEVELOPMENTAnnouncement of a newscheme, PramodMahajan SkillDevelopment Programme forskill development and self-employment assistance hasbeenmade in the Budget. TheGovernment will also set up aResearch and Training Centreat Sewagram,Wardha forvillage industries, cottageindustries and handicrafts.

FORESTSAnnouncement forestablishment of MaharashtraState Bamboo DevelopmentCorporation; increasing theforest cover in areas on theoutskirts of wildlifesanctuaries through publicparticipation andmanagement of tree estatesthrough a newly announcedscheme, ShyamaprasadMukherjee Jana VanaVikas Yojana;

EDUCATION, HEALTHANDWOMENEMPOWERMENTFunds to the tune of `112.5crore given for girl hostels;Security walls to beconstructed aroundGovernment girl hostels;`1,690 crore for Sarva ShikshaAbhiyaan;� `1,996.48 crore for NationalHealthMovement;� `300 crore for Rajeev Gandhi

Jeevandayi Arogya Yojana;�Creation of permanentPunyashlok Ahilyabai HolkarMarket for sale of productsmanufactured by bywomenself-help groups.� `200 crore given toMaziKanya Bhagyashree� `181.36 crore forconstruction of healthinstitutions in urban areas,`47 crore for rural hospitals,`112 crore for the ruralhospitals under the backlog,and `49.56 crore for primaryhealth centres and its subcentres, totalling `389.92 crore� `10 crore for themodernisation of J.J. School ofArt, Mumbai and other artcolleges; School of Planningand Architecture of inter-national standard to be builtin Aurangabad.� `20 crore for assistance tocandidates training for CivilServices (Main) examinationand interview to improve thesuccess ratio of candidatesfromMaharashtra. The PreIAS Training Centre atKolhapur and Nagpur will bestrengthened.� `20 crore for theupgradation of postgraduationmedicalcourse programme at thegovernment medical collegesof Pune, Aurangabad,Akola, Ambejogai, Solapur,Miraj, Sangli, Dhule,Yavatmal, Latur and Nagpur.

POLICEANDCOURTSCCTV cameras to be put up inAmravati, Aurangabad,Nashik and Nagpur cities;Cyber Crime Lab to beestablished in every district;� `18 crore for curbing cybercrimes; `413.6 crore for Courtbuildings and residences forJudges. � LakkadganjPolice Station and colony to bedeveloped as the first smartpolice station and colony.

VILLAGE SCHEMES� The Government hasproposed implementation ofMukhyamantri GraminMargYojanawith an allocationof `350 crore� Aamdar Adarsh GaonYojana around 1000villages to be developedthrough this scheme;`25 crore is earmarked forthis purpose from theoutlay undistributed underPlanning Department.

STRENGTHENINGADMINISTRATIONOfficers and staff will beencouraged to suggestnew resources forincome to the exchequerand innovative remedialmeasures for reduction ofexpenditure.

MEMORIALS� `100 crore for theconstruction of ChhatrapatiShivaji memorial inArabian Sea; similarmonuments of BharatratnaDr. BabasahebAmbedkar, BalasahebThackeray and GopinathMunde to be set upin their memories;� `25 crore givenfor renovation of memorialsof brave fighters andmartyrs.� `11.70 crore formonuments of HutatmaRajguru, Krantivir LahujiSalve, Veer BaburaoPuleshwar Shedmake,Samadhisthal of Shri SantSevalal Maharaj, Poharadevi

BUDGET IN DETAIL


� TheMaharashtra Govern-ment has abolished LocalBody Tax (LBT), proposedcertain changes in the Maha-rashtra Value Added Tax Act(MVAT) and withdrawn VATon service tax. There willbe no Value Added Tax onservice tax and an additionalrelief is being given totraders by reducingthe late fee on VAT returnsto `2,000 from `1,000.

� “The constitutionalamendment bill required forthe introduction of Goods &Services Tax (GST) has beentabled in the Lok Sabha soGST is expected to be imple-mented from April 1, 2016.The State supports GST,”said Sudhir Mungantiwar.

� The Budget has proposedmobilisation of additionalrevenue by enhancingthe premium charged onsale of floor space index(FSI) to the builders. TheGovernment has adopted apolicy of granting additionalFSI based on the width ofthe road next to thestructure. It is proposedthat this additional FSI willbe charged and revenue willbe generated from thispremium FSI.

� A new entry tax has beenlevied on certain goods likelong steel, which was beingbrought in from neighbour-ing States and sold directlyto consumers in Maharash-tra. Pre-laminated particle-boards and wood-free plainwill also attract additionaltaxes. Goods like notebooks,

workbooks, LED bulbs,guide wire and cashew shellwill attract lesser tax(reduced from 12.5 per centto 5 per cent).

� Five per cent tax is beinglevied on paper. To bringclarity to items such aspaper, newsprint, paperboard and waste paper,falling under this category,'paper' will be henceforthnotified. Pending proceed-ings will continue as perdirections issued by thedepartment from time totime, said Sudhir Munganti-war. The Finance Ministerhas made efforts to removeambiguity in taxation. Themove covers exemption intax on workbook, drawingbook, laboratory book andgraph book. White Butter(Desi Loni), spices andembroidery thread are otherproducts benefited withclarification of ambiguity.

� Women earning a salaryof less than `10,000 permonth have been exemptedfrom Professional Tax andcertain medicines used incancer treatment have beenexempted from all Statetaxes. Sales tax on ladiespurse and handbags isreduced from 12.5 per centto 5 per cent.

� The State has exemptedtax on some of the essentialcommodities such as rice,wheat, pulses and theirflour, turmeric, chilies,tamarind, jaggery, coconut,coriander seeds, fenugreek,parsley (suva), papad, wetdates, Solapuri chaddarsand towels up to March 31,2016. Tax exemption on cur-rants and raisins will alsocontinue till March 31, 2016.The lower rate of five percent tax on tea will also con-tinue till March 31, 2016.

� The tax proposals areestimated to result in netrevenue gain of `643 crore,which has been incorpo-rated in the Budget Esti-mates of 2015-16.

TAX TARGETS

district Washim, SantMungsaji MaharajSamadhisthal, DhamangaonDev (Yavatmal), JagatJyoti Mahatma Basaveswar,Mangalveda (Solapur)and Rastrasant TukdojiMaharaj TapobhumiGondoda (Chandrapur). Anadditional outlayof `20 crore is earmarkedfrom the outlayundistributed underPlanning Department� Dr. BabasahebAmbedkarMemorial,Nagpur: `10 crore

MINORITIES, SPECIALASSISTANCEANDTRIBALDEVELOPMENT� Share capital contributionof `150 crore to MaulanaAzad Minority DevelopmentCorporation;� `1,451 crore under specialassistance scheme for BPLfamilies;� `6,490 crore for ScheduledCaste sub-plan;� `4,170 crore for TribalArea Sub-Plan

OTHER SCHEMES� Maharashtra GhareluKamgarWelfare Board:`20 crore;� Nashik Sinhasth KumbhMela: ` 2,378.73 crore;� Maharashtra Sujal VaNirmal Abhiyan: `80.5 crore;� Industrial ClusterDevelopment scheme:`26.5 crore given to thescheme that aims to boostdevelopment of industriallybackward areas.� Digitisation of raretexts: `14.71 crore todigitise 956 rare texts andconversion of thehistorical records availablein Devnagari scripts;`5 crore for digitisationof well-knownAsiatic LibraryinMumbai.

Womenearning a salary ofless than `10,000 permonth have beenexempted fromProfessional Tax andcertainmedicinesused in cancertreatment have beenexempted from allState taxes. Sales taxon ladies purse andhandbags is reducedfrom 12.5 per centto 5 per cent

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The maiden Budget of State Government is growth-oriented and inclusive. In terms of sectors, the annualfinancial outlay is bent in favour of farmers and aimsto give them a life free from drought and debt. On the

other hand, the Budget chases State’s aspirations withMake inMaharashtra and Smart Cities programmes. Keeping in mindits coverage ofmost areas and sections of society, theBudget putsMaharashtra on the path of development. In a post-Budgetinteraction with Vivek Bhavsar, Minister, Finance SudhirMungantiwar talks aboutGovernment’s objectives andways toachieve them. Excerpts:

Q. You are in favour of a separate budget for agri-culture. Have you dropped the idea?A. You are right. We have always been in favour of a separatebudget for agriculture on the lines of Karnataka. But, thistime, it’s State Government’s first Budget since the alliancecame to power last year.And, we have tried tomake it a rural-centric one, instead of presenting a separate one foragriculture. Keeping in mind the fact that Karnataka did notrepeat presenting the agriculture budget in the consecutiveyear, we thought of considering the reasons behind so.

Q. What are the key announcements made on rural

development in the Budget?A. The Budget has emphasised on dry land farming,accelerated development of infrastructure in rural areas, andremoval of disparity. Rural infrastructure has been givenimportance. Nearly `5,374 crore has been earmarked for ruralroads. The focus is also on completing irrigation projects and`7,272 crore has been proposed for completing these; `5,171crore has been proposed for various agriculture schemes andmeasures to increase groundwater level. All these steps willprovide a boost to agriculture and improve financial conditionof farmers. Jalyukta Shivar Abhiyan has been given `1,000crore for the farmers tortured by drought, unseasonal rainsand hailstorms. In the winter session of NagpurAssembly lastyear, we had committed to make farmers debt-free. In theBudget, we have decided to repay loansworth `156 crore takenby 2.23 lakh farmers fromprivatemoney lenders. TheStatewillalso repay interest worth `15 crore on the loans.

Q. What schemes have been announced for Mumbai?A. The Budget has proposed an outlay of `109.60 crore forMumbai Metro Line-3 project, which is the Colaba-Bandra-Seepz metro project. A special purpose vehicle company hasbeen set up to give impetus to the progress of this project. Wehave also proposed an outlay of `197.69 crore and `174.99

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“IT IS A GROWTHORIENTED,INCLUSIVEBUDGET”

ONE ON ONEMINISTER FOR FINANCE

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crore for Nagpur and PuneMetro rail projects, respectively. Tocope up with urbanisation and to attract investments, it isnecessary to develop smart cities. These cities will requirephysical and social infrastructure. Hence, we have proposedan allocation of `268 crore for smart cities.

Q.Are there any schemes for other cities?A.Apart frommetro cities such asMumbai and Pune, we havefocused on growth of small and developing cities. We havesuggested developmental works for such cities.Air transport isone of the major aspects of development. Hence, `91 crore hasbeen set aside for the development, inspection andmaintenanceof the airstrips of Ozar (Nashik), Kolhapur, Akola, Shirdi,Karad (Satara), Amravati, Solapur and Chandrapur airportsunder the MaharashtraAirportDevelopmentCorporation. Forland acquisition and rehabilitation for the Mihan project atNagpur, `200 crore has been proposed.

Q. What are the schemes for women?A. Women welfare is another area of attention. We haveincreased the Professional Tax limit to `10,000 for women.Earlier, the facilitywas available only towomen receiving salarybelow `7,500. The increasewill benefit around1,50,000women.Mahila Bachat Gat will be provided a permanent PunyashlokAhilyabaiHolkarmarket at district level, and `200 crorewill bespent on this. The Government has also made a provision of`200 crore for Mazi Kanya Bhagyashree. We will also providebetter remuneration to Aanganwadi staff. To reduce the dropout rate among girls in secondary education, `112 crore hasbeenmade for building hostels.Within next three years, all theGovernment girl hostels will have security walls. Funds to thetune of `25 crore have been provided for this.

Q. Tell us about theAdarsh GramYojana.A. Inspired byCentre’s SaansadAdarshGramYojana, a parallel

scheme for Member of Legislative Assembly and Council hasbeen announced in the Budget. Under the newAamdarAdarshGramYojana, around1,000 villageswill be developed in thenextfive years. Considering the opportunities for Maharashtratourism, emphasis has been laid on tourism development andcreation of employment avenues.

The Budget has set aside `320 crore to implement SwachhBharatAbhiyan in urban cities of the State. To implement thescheme in rural areas, an outlay of `490.49 crore is proposed.

Q.Youhaveannouncedoutlays formemorials of leaders.Who are these leaders?A. The Chhatrapati ShivajiMaharajmemorial in theArabianSea that has been discussed formany years is one of thememorials. An outlay of `100crore has been given to thismemorial. State’s respectableleaders Balasaheb Thackerayand Gopinath Munde are otherleaders whose memorials will bebuilt. Balasaheb Thackeray’smemorial will be built inMumbai

and a Chair of his namewill be created inMumbai University.Thememorial of GopinathMundewill be built atAurangabad.

Q. The abolition of LBT will come into force fromAugust 1. Are trade bodies upset with you?A. Local Body Tax would be abolished from August 1, 2015instead of April 1. With this, compensation of `6,875 crorewould be required to be given to the municipal corporations,excluding BMC. This loss of revenue will be compensated byenhancing rate of tax under Value Added Tax Act. Theenhanced rate of tax will apply to the whole State. A revenue-neutral rate has been recommended considering the share ofincreased tax collection to be given to the areas where LBT isnot levied. TheGovernment is firm on abolishing the LBT, andis ready to discuss the concerns of trade organisations.

Q. What are the ways to increase State’s revenue?A. Instead of thinking how to increase the income, I havefocused on how to save State’s fund, which either remainsunused or is not required. I have saved more than `2,000crore from the State exchequer in last week of March.Government offices have a tendency to spend the balancedoutlay of the concerned department byMarch 31 on unwanteditems, to stop the fund from being lapsed. Other option theyhave is to return the unutilised fund to the State. We havefound out five to six sources of revenue generation throughenhancing FSI, enhanced taxation on country liquor, and otherways. The Budget has tried to reduce the revenue deficit fromthat of last year, and efforts for expenditure control and thriftare being made from here onwards.

“INSTEAD OFTHINKING HOW TOINCREASE THEINCOME, I HAVEFOCUSED ON HOWTO SAVE STATE’SFUND, WHICHEITHER REMAINSUNUSED OR IS NOTREQUIRED”

Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar and Minister of State FinanceDeepak Kesarkar giving final touches to the State Budget


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Bharat Ratna Dr. Bhimrao RamjiAmbedkar is one of those figures in thehistory of modern India about whommany people know a little bit, and very

few understand anything much. Most educatedIndians are aware that he played a prominentrole in the making of India’s liberal Constitutionof 1950, as amember of the Constituent Assemblyand the Chairman of the Drafting Committee.Fewer Indians might also know that Ambedkarfounded a sect of protestant Buddhism,Navayana,the NewWay or the New Vehicle.

The phrases “founding father” in the Americansense, and “maker of modern India” have becomepopular in the last 5-7 years, signalling—withoutreally substantively deepening—our casualperception of his historic role. Those who followhim, as Dalits, as Neo-Buddhists, as politicalactivists—the faithful, if you will, whatever thereason for their adherence to his persona and hisideas—refer to Dr. Ambedkar as “Babasaheb”, anaddress usedwith asmuch respect and affection as“Mahatma” and “Bapu” for Gandhiji.

Many who do know of him believe in himpassionately, and speak of him with the kindof fervour normally reserved for religious figures—prophets, saints, those who uttered revelationsand those who brought deliverance. BabasahebAmbedkar is one of the most luminous figures inmodern Indian history.

Ambedkar’s life was punctuated by a series ofsetbacks and disappointments, each of whichpropelled him towards loftier goals, more difficultchallenges, and stronger assertions of the will toovercome inimical circumstances and a hostileworld. Hewas born inApril 14, 1891.Hewas gifted

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PROFILEDR. B.R. AMBEDKAR

Bharat Ratna Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar was an Indian jurist, economist,politician and social reformer who inspired the Modern Buddhist Movement andcampaigned against social discrimination of Dalits, women and labour. The principalarchitect of the Constitution of India, was an intellectual whose scholarly aptitude sawhim accomplishing graduate degrees from Columbia University and the LondonSchool of Economics. Apart from a double MA and PhD and a degree in law, he alsopenned several learned books. AAnnaannyyaa VVaajjppeeyyii writes a piece on his life

A LEADER FOREVERY GENERATION


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with extraordinary intellectual powers, anambitious father, encouraging teachers, and aroyal benefactor, all of which together ensuredthat he went to college in Bombay and then won ascholarship to Columbia University, a first foranyone of his background.

But despite these talents, advantages andlucky breaks, and despite his innate drive,Ambedkar’s childhood and early youth weremarred by visceral experiences of the prejudice,bigotry and violence of an untouchable existence.He couldn’t sit next to his upper caste classmates;he was denied food and water for long days atschool because his very touch was considered

polluting; he was not permitted to study Sanskritbecause of his ritually debased caste status; andhis everyday life was riddled with insults, segre-gation and physical abuse.

Nevertheless, at the recommendation, interest-ingly, of a couple of his Brahmin professors, thescion of the nearby princely state of Baroda, theGaekwad Maharaja, decided to fund his higherstudies. In the late summer of 1913, the youngmanfound himself in Morningside Heights, on West114th Str. between Broadway and Amsterdam, inManhattan, New York, very far indeed from Indiaand its cruel and senseless humiliations.

With the perseverance and grit so characteri-stic of his temperament, Ambedkar raced throughan MA and a PhD in anthropology and politicaleconomy,writingMasters andDoctoral theses thatwould in very short order be published as his firstscholarly article and book, respectively.His advisorwas Edwin Seligman, but as luck would have it,who should be spending those years on Columbiacampus but John Dewey, the great Americaneducationist, pragmatist and liberal philosopher.Dewey remained an important influence onAmbedkar to the very end of his life (they both diedtwo years apart in the mid-1950s). Ambedkar’samazing progress sent him next to the LondonSchool of Economics (LSE), where he began asecondMA in the fall of 1916.

Things only got worse, though, when hearrived in Gujarat to serve as the Maharaja’smilitary secretary. No one would rent him a roomor a house; no onewanted to share office spacewithhim; once more he got no water to drink nor tea,nor lunch with colleagues nor dinner fromhis landlord (who only admitted him to hisboarding house under a false identity as a Parsigentleman). He couldn’t even get a lamp at night tobe able to read in his room after the workday wasdone. For all his qualifications as the mosteducated individual in the whole principalityof Baroda, he was right back where he hadstarted—an Untouchable.

The story is that one day hewas discovered andthrown out of his hostel, and spent the night in amunicipal park, under a tree, burning withhumiliation very much like the young Gandhi 30years earlier who was off-loaded from a train atPetermaritzburg station inNatal, SouthAfrica, ona winter’s night in June 1893 for being a blackman—even if a qualified lawyer and the owner ofa first-class ticket. Gandhi had faced the whitecolonial master’s racism; Ambedkar was insultedby his fellow-Indians, fellow-Hindus. Neitherman


Dr. Ambedkarraced throughan MA and aPhD inanthropologyand politicaleconomy,writing Mastersand Doctoraltheses thatwould bepublished as hisfirst scholarlyarticle and book,respectively

(From top) Dr B.R. Ambedkar addressing a conference at Ambedkar Bhawan, Delhi and while working

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ever forgot the lesson he learned on that fatefulnight, and both these experiences proved to be life-changing in each case.

Upset and frustrated, Ambedkar quit his joband went back to Bombay to rejoin his family.Fortunately, he was appointed as a professor ofpolitical economy at Sydenham College and soonsaved enough money to go back to London toresume his studies. Between 1920 and 1923, heearned a secondMA and a second PhD at the LSE,as well as a law degree fromGray’s Inn in London.He even spent a few months at the University ofBonn, in Germany, working towards a PhD inIndology—the very same subject he had beendisallowed from studying as an undergraduate 15years earlier because Sanskrit was supposedly off-limits to persons of low caste.

This over-compensation reveals the extent towhich he took his shoddy treatment in India toheart, and also suggests a desperate desire not tohave to go home and deal with the reality ofdiscrimination that wasn’t going anywhere nomatter how firmly Ambedkar turned his back, nomatter how high above his birth he climbedthrough the sheer dint of hard work. Later on in

one of his writings he describedHindu society as atower divided into floors of caste, without windowsto look out and without stairs to carry one up ordown from the level at which one happened to beborn. He could have added that there were nodoors, either, for entry or exit. By mid-1923,Ambedkar really did run out of time and money,and came back to Bombay.

In the remainder of the 1920s, the ridiculouslyover-qualified 32-year-old was called to the Bar,started a practice at theBombayHighCourt, beganpublishing his various scholarly dissertations, wasappointedprofessor at theGovernmentLawCollegewhere he would eventually become a named chairand later Principal, was nominated to the BombayLegislativeCouncil, and ranmore than one popularjournal and community organisation dealing withthe rights of Untouchables.

Ambedkar became the face of a socialgroup that was at last awakening to its politicalidentity—but really, he was the one who, almostsingle-handedly, was defining the contours of thisidentity and aggressively politicising it, at least inthe city of Bombay and theBombayPresidency.Hewas determined to deploy the surfeit of his own

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PROFILEDR. B.R. AMBEDKAR

Between1920 and 1923,Dr. Ambedkarearned asecond MA anda second PhDat the LSE, aswell as a lawdegree fromGray’s Inn inLondon. Heeven spenta few months atthe Universityof Bonn, for aPhD in Indology

Dr. Ambedkar being administeared the Oath by the first President of Indian Republic Dr. Rajendra Prasad. Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru looking on

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qualifications and capabilities to make up for thecollective backwardness—reinforced by centuriesof oppression—of his most wretched brethren.

Ambedkar launched a series of agitations,mobilisations and campaigns to demand thatUntouchables be allowed to access public goodslike drinking water from tanks and wells; thatthey be allowed to move freely and in a dignifiedmanner, without threat to life or limb in publicspaces like roads and parks; and that they begranted entry into sacred temples to exercise theright to worship therein just like other Hindus.

Predictably, caste Hindus, even liberal,educated and Anglicised urban people, were

intransigent. Ambedkar would take one stepforward and have to backtrack two steps—templeswere claimed to be private property; tanks wereritually “purified” after Untouchables had takenwater from them.

Subsequently Ambedkar found himself givingevidence before various Government commissionsand committees, introducing radical bills in theBombay Legislative Council, and appointed as therepresentative of the Untouchables at the threehistoric Roundtable Conferences held between1930 and 1932 to enable the British, the Congressand other third parties, like himself, to sit downand discuss increasingly voluble Indian demandsfor self-determination.

Matters came to a head when RamsayMacDonald proposeda “communal award”, creatingseparate electorates for Muslims on the one handand Untouchables on the other. Ambedkar was infavour; Gandhi was opposed. Ambedkar saw Un-touchables as a type of minority, like Muslims;Gandhi felt that British machinations had alreadydivided Indians intoHindus andMuslims, andnowthreatened to further break Hindus up into uppercastes and so called “depressed classes” or lowercastes and Untouchables. Neither man yielded.

Gandhi raised the stakes by going on a fastunto death if his views were not respected. Hepledged to educate, harangue and shame casteHindus until they ceased and desisted frompracticing Untouchability. He proclaimed himselfthe spokesman of Untouchables. Public opinionand political pressure were unequivocally inGandhi’s favour; Ambedkar had to back down andenter into the “Poona Pact”, in September 1932, tokeep Untouchables together with other Hinduswithin joint electorates. This agreement brokeGandhi’s fast, but it also brokeAmbedkar’s faith inGandhi, in the Congress, and in caste Hindus.

In October 1935, at Yeola, outside the city ofNashik in northern Maharashtra, Ambedkar de-clared at a publicmeeting that hemight have beenborn aHindu, but he would not die one. He did nothimself fully know yet what exactly this statementimplied or entailed, what it was that he could orwould do, concretely, to redeemhis vow, but he putit out there, and he never looked back.

—The writer is an intellectual historian at theCentre for the Study of Developing Societies,

New Delhi and author of Righteous Republic: ThePolitical Foundations of Modern India.

Currently, she is writing a bookon the life and ideas of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar

Dr. Ambedkarbecame the faceof a social groupthat was atlast awakeningto its politicalidentity—butreally, he wasthe one whowas definingthe contours ofthis identityand politicisingit, at least in thecity of Bombay

A profile picture ofDr. B. R. Ambedkar

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It was a field visit planned differently. Ithad the heat of grave issues that limit abig IndianState to growholistically andmustbe discussed in person. The location was the

village of Pimpri Buti in drought-hit Yavatmal andthe issue was farmer suicides in the district.

A similar meeting of the Chief Minister hadtaken place in January, when he boarded theMumbai local train during evening peak hours. Thecommute led to valuable suggestions and brain-

storming sessions tohelp the train service overcomeits limitations and serve the commuters better. Thistime, the field visit included interactions withwidows of farmers apart fromdinner andnight stayat a farmer’s residence. “It is a matter of shame foreveryone that farmers continue to commit suicide.There is an urgent need to address basic issues likeimproving irrigation facilities. Unless that is done,there can never be a solution to farmer suicides,”said Devendra Fadnavis, who was on a three-dayvisit to drought-hit villages in the State.

Yavatmal has seen maximum farmer suicidesrecorded in Maharashtra. To investigate thereasons behind the suicides and reach apermanent solution, the Chief Minister visitedthree villages in the district. He was accompaniedby Guardian Minister, Yavatmal, Sanjay Rathod;MLA Madan Yerawar; MLA Dr. Ashok Uike;MLA Raju Najardhane; Principal SecretaryPravin Pardeshi.

During the visit, Devendra Fadnavis heldmany discussionswith key people. Sharing detailsof his discussions, he said, there is no better potionthan irrigation facilities to help the grave issue of

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FIELD VISITYAVATMAL

THEHEARTOF THEMATTERChief Minister Devendra Fadnavis visitsMaharashtra’s drought-hit regions to discusscrucial matters with the farmers. A stay at afarmer’s house makes the visit special for everyone

(Clockwise from left)Maharashtra Chief Minister

Devendra Fadnavisinteracting with farmers,

sharing a meal at afarmer’s house, and taking

stock of the situation indrought-hit villages

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farmer suicides. A long-term plan is beingimplemented for this. “For immediate relief,Jalyukta Shivar Abhiyan has been undertakenthrough which farmers are provided perennialirrigation facilities. The results of the schemecan be seen by June,” he said.

The past few years have seen delays incompletion of irrigation well works in few districtsof the State. The Chief Minister is hopeful that byJune, all of these pendingworkswill be done. Thesewells will be provided with electrical connection.He assured farmers of fulsome support.

The proportion of expenses ismore compared toproduction in case of agriculture.TheGovernment isimplementing an experiment to know how agri-culture can be made more profitable. A system willbe created where the farmers provide their productstraight to the processing industries. Non-availa-bility of loan supply institutions in rural areas istroublesome for the farmers. To counter this, anetwork of credit supply institutionswill be createdall over the State in near future. A satellite systemwill also be set up to check the implementation ofvarious welfare schemes. The plan includes micro-survey of families.Newschemeswill bebased on theinformation gathered from the survey and efforts.

With a population of 1,600, Pimpri Buti liesaround 22 km from Yavatmal. Before leaving forRatchandana village, the Chief Minister had acompassionate dialoguewithwidows of farmers atthe Zilla Parishad School in Pimpri Buti. Hegathered all information about the problems ofthe widows and came to know that about tenfamilies did not receive any kind of help from theState. He immediately issued instructions to theconcerned officers to find out the schemes throughwhich these families could be helped.

The star feature of Chief Minister’s visit toPimpri Buti was his dinner and stay at farmerVishnuji Rangrao Dhumane’s home. Dhumanehas 13 acres of dry land, where he is growingsoybean and cotton. Guardian Minister SanjayRathod and MLA Madan Yerawar were with theChief Minister when he visited the farmer.

—Written by Mohan Rathore


There is anurgent need toaddress basicissues likeimprovingirrigation. Unlessthat is done, therecan never be asolution to farmersuicides.Removing theirrigation backlogcan help solve theproblem.—DevendraFadnavisChief Minister

A DINNERWITH BHARITAND BHAKARIThe special dinner atVishnuji RangraoDhumane’s residencewas rather a simpleone, with Bharit andBhakari. DevendraFadnavis had his mealsitting on the groundflanked by Dhumane,Guardian MinisterSanjay Rathod, MLARaju Najardhane andMLA Dr. Ashok Uike oneither side. Themeal consisted ofBhakari, Dalbhaji,Thecha and rice.

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Helping the farmers of Maharashtrabecome self reliant by way of makingthe villages of theStatewater surplus isthe key to economic growth. In keeping

with this sentiment,ChiefMinister ofMaharashtra,Devendra Fadnavis launched the Jalyukta ShivarAbhiyan (providing villageswith permanent sourceof water) at the outskirts of Lyahari village inHadgaon talukaofNandeddistrict aspart ofhis two-day tour of Vidarbha andMarathwada.

Speaking at the farmers meet held at Lyahari,the Chief Minister said that the Government hasfirmly resolved to bestow drought freedom to 5,000villages in the State under the new Scheme withina year.Making anannouncement, about anamountof `4,500 crore been transferred directly to theaccounts of 55 lakh farmers, Devendra Fadnavisemphasised on the fact that “the Government willnever shy away from its duty to help distressedfarmers in every possible way.”

With several parts ofMaharashtra still reelingunder conditions of drought, the StateGovernmenthas launched the scheme to address the problem ona permanent basis. All the existing schemes onwater conservationwill be accumulated under thisprogramme, which aims to end the drought-likesituation in the State in the long term. Expressingconfidence in the new scheme, the Chief Ministersaid, “TheGovernment has begun to bring a changeby designing various schemes for farmers. Ifthe farmers also contribute to this change, it willhave a positive effect.”

Devendra Fadnavis, who has been on amarathon tour of the State, has been inspectingthe agricultural lands facing uncertainties due tountimely rains. “Farmers are in trouble and theyare facing natural calamities for last few years.Based on this realisation, the Government hastaken a stand to help them. We have providedhuge funds to assist the farmers. The calamity isgrave, but the Government is trying to help andfirmly support them. All the District Collectorshave been issued instructions for survey of thelosses due to unseasonal rains,” he said.

Stating that the Jalyukta ShivarAbhiyan is aneffort towards removing obstacles in agricultureand drinking water problems of villages inMaharashtra, the Chief Minister explained howvarious works have been undertaken with a viewto maintain water available in a village.

The Chief Minister’s Transformation Office(CMTO) will monitor the scheme, while NGODelivering Change Foundationwill supervise it onthe ground level and post aerial photographs of the


IRRIGATIONJALYUKTA SHIVAR ABHIYAN

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SELF-RELIANCEIS THE KEYSevere drought conditions have proved fatalforMaharashtra in waysmore than one. The launchof the ambitious Jalyukta Shivar Abhiyan byChief Minister Devendra Fadnavis can go a long wayinmaking the State water surplus while speedingup the process of development

(From above) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis addressing the farmers in Lyaharivillage in Hadgaon, Nanded, and participating in bhoomipujan

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area in the public domain before and aftercompletion of the project. This will enable thepublic to see for themselves whether the work hasactually been done.

Emphasis will also be laid on the creation ofprocessing industries for agricultural productssuch as cotton and soybean. Speaking at thefarmers’ meet, Devendra Fadnavis expressedconfidence that the change will definitely arrive.He said that the Government has taken decisionsworth `7,000 crore in the interest of farmerswithinthe last threemonths. “TheGovernmentwill neverback out from helping the farmers. Our effortsare aimed at bringing a change in their livesand empowering them to contribute to variousschemes meant for them,” he added. The ChiefMinister also received representations from

Nanded District Plan-ning DevelopmentCommittee (DPDC)

has approved the draft planproposals to the extent of`240.14 crore for the finan-cial year 2015-16 and re-planning for the financialyear 2014-15. The DPDCmeeting was held under thechairmanship of TransportMinister and Guardian Min-ister Diwakar Raote. Heappealed for a resolve toattain drought freedom forvillages through JalyuktaShivar Abhiyan. Heexpected that all DPDCmembers would activelyparticipate in the scheme,and public participationwould enhance its results.He added that maximumefforts should be made forutilisation of the funds keptfor the programme.

Jalyukta Shivar Abhiyancovers 261 villages fromNanded. Diwakar Raotestressed on the fact that theCommittee members shouldbe called on to participate

while the planning for thescheme is being carried out.“The members shouldensure that the entire fundavailable for the project isused properly, and publicparticipation in the project isencouraged. The officers are

required to guide and partic-ipate wherever necessary,”he said, adding “We haveresolved to attain droughtfreedom for 5,000 villages.Now, we have a windowopen till June for workunder this scheme. There-

fore, efforts for making itsuccessful should be madeby all the constituents,elected representatives andpeople of the villages.”

Diwakar Raote issuedinstructions on being vigilantwith respect to water supplyschemes in rural areas andsaid that Sub-Committees ofCommittee members shouldbe created to control variousdevelopment works in thedistrict. He insisted that thewater-scarcity exigenciesfrom villages other thanthose covered under theJalyukta Shivar Abhiyanshould also be attended towith the same promptnessand sensitivity. He expressedsatisfaction on the speedyexecution of the toilet con-struction work. Congratulat-ing the Zilla Parishad andCEO Abhimanyu Kale fortheir efforts, he said morefunds will be madeavailable for these projectsand a request for thesame will be placed with theGovernment of India.

farmers’ delegations and others on the occasion.Earlier, the Chief Minister participated in the

foundation stone laying ceremony of anagriculturallake at Lyahari. Secretary,Agriculture, PrabhakarDeshmukh; Divisional Revenue CommissionerDr. Umakant Dangat; Principal Secretary PravinPardeshi; District Collector Dheeraj Kumar;DSP Paramjit Singh Dahiya; CEO Nanded ZillaParishad Abhimanyu Kale; Additional DistrictCollector Dilip Swami; Agricultural OfficerSanjay Padwal; Former Members of ParliamentSubhash Wankhede, Chaitanya Deshmukh, andAd. Shivajirao Jadhav graced the occasion withtheir presence. Various senior Government officersand farmers from Lyahari were also present at themeet in large numbers.

—Written by Mohan Rathore

The Govern-ment will neverback out fromhelping thefarmers. Ourefforts are aimedat bringing achange in thelives of farmersand empoweringthem to contributeto variousschemes”—DevendraFadnavisChief Minister

The Abhiyan will get Maharashtra freedom from drought: Diwakar Raote


Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF)has taken many initiatives to speed up clearancesthat industries in India want. The Ministry alsoaspires to build a people-friendly image. Its other

priorities are fast-track clearances that have been pending for along time and making the process transparent. MoEF is alsoopen to launch new policy initiatives. In an an exclusiveinterview forMaharashtraAheadwithRohitChandavarkar,Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar sharesMoEF’s key moves. Excerpts:

Q.Please tell us about the important policy decisions orchanges you have initiated since you took over as theMinister of this department.A.Unfortunately, theMoEF developed a negative image in thelast few years. It represented licence permit raj and was seenas a roadblock in the path of development and growth. Wehave taken up steps now to change this image. Firstly, we havebrought in fast-tracking of project clearances; secondly, wehave brought transparency; thirdly, we are going for policyreview and changes in approach; and fourthly, we have decidedto have expert appraisals wherever certain issues are seen tobe complicated. While fast-tracking clearances, one of theelements is to take the process online. Today, we are processingover 2,200 project proposals online and that also means thatthere is transparency in it. MoEF is no longer a license permitroadblock, but a people-friendly facilitator.

Q.What kind of policy review related to environmentalclearances do you have in mind?A. We have to think whether we should be running a licence

permit systemorbe facilitators of development, andat the sametimealsoprotect the environment.Oneof the reasonsbehind thedelay in clearance was that, after an applicant submitted theterms of reference, it required threemonths to process that partitself.Wehavenowdecided that this periodwill be cut short, andas soonas the environmental impact study is submitted,wewillprocess the application for approval. An example is of defencesector. Earlier, every major project of the defence departmentwas stalled by theMoEF.Now,we are doing a review ofwhether

the blocking was necessary. Wehave takenadecision thatall roadsbeing built by the Border RoadsOrganisation should be givenapproval. All roads being built inthe 100 km range of the bordershould be built under standardguideline. Similarly, coastal regu-lation zone (CRZ) restrictionsareabig issue. In brief, I can say thatour target is industrial growthwithout destruction.

Q

IN PERSONUNION CABINET MINISTER

“Developmentwithoutdestruction

is ourtarget”

“WEAREPROCESSINGOVER2,200 PROJECTPROPOSALSONLINE.MOEF ISNO LONGERALICENSE PERMITROADBLOCK, BUT APEOPLE-FRIENDLYFACILITATOR”

Q. What is the plan on CRZ, as it is a major concern incities like Mumbai and Chennai? It puts manyrestrictions, which are sometimes not practical.A. We are going for a review of CRZ, especially on variousdefence projects that are getting affected by it. We havedecided to give permission to coastal outposts of the CoastGuard. This clearance was pending for a long time. Similarly,we are positive about Mumbai’s coastal road project. We areonly concerned about preserving the present high-tide line.Once that is done, we can proceed on clearing the project.

Q. You have fast-tracked some project clearances, butthathas led to thecriticismthatyouarenotdoingenoughto protect the environment in eco-sensitive areas.A. That is not true. I am happy to announce that recentlyMoEF has identified 17 sectors that are critical for theprotection of environment. These are the sectors that arelikely to cause pollution or damage the environment.We havenow decided to make it mandatory for all the projects andplans of these sectors to monitor their effluents on a 24/7basis. Similarly, we will be launching a new concept of

monitoring air quality index in 20 cities of the country. Wewant to make all these activities people-centric and allowdevelopment without damaging the fragile ecosystem. Ourtarget is to have development without destruction and toprotect nature from any possible degradation.

Q. Many States, particularly in the South India, arefacing problems in giving clearances to investors, as

there is no clarity on MoEF’spolicy on Western Ghats.What is the latest on this?A. The implementation ofKasturirangan report is due. Wehave asked seven States, whichhave ecosensitive zones to takeup a study of sustainability at theground level.We have asked themto go to village level and do astudy of how development will besustainable vis-à-vis environ-ment protection.A lot will depend

on what the States say and what they want.

Q. The cleaning ofGanga is an ambitious project. OtherIndian rives also face serious problems because ofindustrial effluents. TheMaharashtraGovernment hasscrapped the river regulation zone restriction forsetting up a new industry. What is your view?A.We find river contamination to be a serious problem, whichcan only be solved by simultaneous action on several fronts.Sewerage and industrial effluents have to be controlled. Wehave launched sewer-processing plants in several places. Weare speaking to industries such as cement to ensure that theygo for zero-distil discharge. We are also launching aneducational drive through students to convince people abouthow to protect the rivers. As far as scrapping of riverregulation zone is concerned, we are a bit concerned. Cases inStates such asUttarakhand and Jammu&Kashmir show thatif a river and its environment are not protected, it can lead tosevere damage. There has to be some mechanism in place toensure that river’s environment remains safe.

Q. What is the agenda for Paris climate summitconsidering the expectations from India?A. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said during PresidentObama’s India visit that there is no pressure on India to commitanything, but still there is pressure to save the environmentbecause we feel that it is our responsibility towards the futuregenerations. I rememberMahatmaGandhi’s statement thatweshould not just think thatwehave inherited this earth from theearlier generations, but we should always remember that wehave borrowed it from the future generations. So in that sense,we have towork towards saving the environment and ensuringthat carbon emissions are the lowest in our country.


“THERE ARECASESTOSHOWTHATIF A RIVER ISNOTPROTECTED,IT CAN LEAD TOSEVEREDAMAGE.WEMUST KEEP ARIVER’S ENVIRON-MENT SAFE”


PHOTO FEATURETARAPOREVALA AQUARIUM

AALLLL TTHHIINNGGSS AAQQUUAATTIICCTaraporevala Aquarium was set up ata cost of `8 lakh in 1951 at Charni Roadin Mumbai. It has attracted familiesover six decades. The aquarium hashoused about a hundred species offish, including coral, sharks, rays,starfish, and a variety of other marinelife and rare sea shells. Withrenovation and value additions, theaquarium stands to become an iconiclandmark for not just Mumbai, but alsoIndia, believes Chief Minister DevendraFadnavis. The Chief Ministerinaugurated the aquarium in Marchand called it a destination that willdrive tourism in a big way. Therenovated aquarium has around 400species of fish, including a few fromChina, Singapore and Malaysia.The rare species include damsel,butterfly and squirrel.

Taraporevala Aquarium makes a

comeback after renovation and additions.

Registering over 10,000 visitors on its first day,

Mumbai’s 64-year-old aquarium is already

a success. Photographs by Raju Dongre

A peep intomarine life

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1. and 2. Inside and outsideview of the renovatedTaraporevala Aquarium inMumbai; 3. and 4. ChiefMinister Devendra Fadnaviswith his Cabinet colleaguesvisit the Aquarium;5.Landscaping at theaquarium; 6. Ribbon Eel;7. Star Fish; 8. Flower Horn;9. Turtle; 10. A youngvisitor; 11. Indian MajorCarp Fish; 12. Gold fish

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PHOTO FEATURETARAPOREVALA AQUARIUM

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1. Kombada, Lion andTurkey (has flamboyantfrilly spines with venomglands at their base),2. Seahorse, 3. Tiger barb4. Singaporean turtle(or Red eared sliders areturtles often reared aspets), 5. Damsel fish,6. A child at theaquarium 7. Popat fish,8. Oscar Chiclid Tropical(a South Americanfish) 9. Trigger,10. Koi fish 11. Angelfish, 12. Piranha,13. Giant Gourani

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CCLLAASSSSYY GGLLAASSSSYY The just renovated aquariumshowcases marine life in a grand way.The tanks—slightly bigger thanthe old ones—are fitted with110 mm flexi glass that gives betterclarity, and will be lit by LEDor metal halide lamps to enhancethe colour of fish.

At the entrance, there is anoceanarium—a first-of-its-kind inIndia—that gives one the feelingof being under the sea. The hugetunnel aquarium will display saltwaterfish in 180 degrees. A special tankfor jelly fish has been created. Theupcoming features include a touchpool, where visitors will be ableto touch harmless marineanimals like the sea urchin, seacucumber, starfish and turtles.Visitors can also watch adocumentary or educational film onthe marine life at the 50-seatamphitheatre.

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Taraporevala Aquarium now houses

around 400 species of fish brought from

world over. The rare species include

damsel, butterfly and squirrel. The

upcoming features include a touch

pool, where visitors will be able to

touch harmless marine animals such

as the sea urchin, sea cucumber,

starfish and turtle

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Thedivisional head ofMarathwada,Auran-gabad showcases a perfect blend of historyand industry. The gateway to the WorldHeritage Sites of Ajanta and Ellora, the

city is also one of the most industrially developeddistricts of Maharashtra. Many companies in thesectors of automotive and auto components,pharmaceuticals andbreweries, consumerdurables,plastic processing, aluminium processing, agri-culture and biotech have their manufacturing basehere. The combinationmakesAurangabadan inter-national tourism and investment destination.

Interestingly, all of these were not achieved inrecent years.Aurangabad’s geographic location andconnectivity with other industrially developeddistricts of India established it as a trading hubfour centuries ago. The city lies on a major traderoute that was used to connect north-west India’ssea and land ports to the Deccan region. In 1889, acotton-spinning and weaving mill opened in thecity, employing 700 people. The Hyderabad-Godavari Valley Railways, set up in 1900, led toseveral ginning factories. In 1960, Marathwada

was merged with Maharashtra, and its industrialdevelopment began. Later,Maharashtra IndustrialDevelopmentCorporation (MIDC) began acquiringland and setting up industrial estates.

Aurangabad’s central location and seamlessconnectivity to the ports make importing of rawmaterials and exporting of goods much easier andcost effective.Major infrastructure projects under-taken over the years have helped it get furtheraccess and acceptance. TheNagpur–Aurangabad–Mumbai express highway that will soon becompleted will provide a great advantage toAurangabad andwill help industries significantlysave time and cost on the logistics front.

MEGAPROJECTS, SMART CITYAurangabad is bordered byNashik, Jalgaon, Jalnaand Ahmednagar. Shendra Bidkin, Chikalthanaand Waluj MIDC Industrial Areas are prominentindustrial zones situated on the outskirts of thecity. It has many mega projects and five SpecialEconomic Zones in automotive, pharmaceuticals,aluminium and renewable energy. Aurangabad is

INDUSTRYAURANGABAD

INASTATEOFPROGRESSAhistorical-yet-modern district, Aurangabad ispacing ahead as a world-class industrial destination.The proposed smart city of Shendra Bidkin standsto add to its glory, says JJyyoottii VVeerrmmaa

(Clockwise from left)Industrial projects ofPremium Stephan,Wockhardt, Glenmark andNRB Industrial Bearings inand around Aurangabad

TheShendraBidkin MegaIndustrial Parkwill be developedas part of theDMIC project. Itwill be equippedwith world-classindustrialinfrastructureand will havesupportinfrastructuresuch asresidential,commercial andinstitutionalfacilities

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industrial output and quadruple exports from theregion in five years. Of the nearly 4,000 ha thatwill comprise Phase One, 845 ha are in MIDC’spossession, with the remaining due for acquisitionin May. The agency is now racing ahead withmaster plans, concept plans, skill developmentinitiatives and detailed consultations.

Another priority is building infrastructure.Apart from four-lane roads connecting Shendraand Bidkin to NH 211 and two flyovers, variousconsultants are focusing on plans for sewerageoperations, water supply and other builtinfrastructure. The acquired land will also have amulti-modal logistics park at Karnad—4 km fromShendra andnear to the proposed JNPTdry port—that can make a possible exports promotion zone.

The Shendra–Bidkin Mega Industrial Park(MIP) will be developed as part of the DMICproject. The MIP—estimated to be 5,000-10,000hectares in size—is envisioned as a new satellitecommunity to the city of Aurangabad. The parkwill be equipped with world-class industrial andsupport infrastructure.

the third city in Maharashtra after Pune andNashik to host an auto cluster, namelyMarathwadaAuto Cluster. Electrical goods majorSiemens has set up a plant for manufacturing oftrain coaches, including superior-quality bogiesfor locomotives, electric multiple units and metrocoaches at Shendra MIDCAurangabad.

One of the early-bird projects along the DelhiMumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), Shendra–Bidkin after completion will be about 80 sq kmstretch dedicated to manufacturing. Under itsproposed “100 Smart Cities” project, Governmentof India plans to take up seven places in the firstphase. It has identified two places—Dholera inGujarat and Shendra-Bidkin in Maharashtraalong the DMIC, where the actual ground workwill kick off. Spread over 903 hectare, theindustrial area is just 20 km from AurangabadCity, located along National Highway 211.

Touted as a game changer by industry captainsand bureaucrats, the firstmilestone—acquiring ofland from farmers—is already achieved. The StateGovernment expects to double employment, triple

2 MAHARASHTRA AHEAD � APRIL 2015 29

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THE SMARTMOVEAs a beginning, theShendra–BidkinIndustrial Areadevelopment entailsan investment of`17,391 crore tocover 84 sq km ofarea. Initially, 32 sqkmwill bedeveloped. Theproject coversShendre–BidkinIndustrial City, multimodal logistics parkat Karnad,exhibition-cum-convention centreat Aurangabad andwater supplyscheme forShendra. Theseprojects areexpected to create3,30,000 jobs.


INDUSTRY UPDATESMAKE IN MAHARASHTRA

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To increase the number of entrepreneurs inthe State, along with organising SkillDevelopment Shibirs at each district,

Industrial Training Institutes will be strength-ened, said the Chief Minister while distributingUdyog Ratna Awards at a programme hostedby World Marathi Chamber of Commerceand Industry.

Minister for Industries Subhash Desai,Chairman of Chambers and former Chief Min-ister Manohar Joshi, MP Shivajirao Adarrao,Secretary General of Chambers Sudhir Sawant

and others were present on the occasion.The Chief Minister said, to give proper

direction to the capability of youth, theGovernment has taken up the Skill Develop-ment Programme zealously. The Government isemphasising on ease of doing business in theState to attract investments. Government isalso emphasising on the need to improve theraw material production sector.

Subhash Desai said, the Government haschalked out various schemes to give impetus tosmall industries besides big industries.

Chairman of Jaika Group, Praful Kale,Chairperson of Sugi Group Nishant Deshmukh,film producer and director Mahesh Kothare,textile entrepreneur Pradip Marathe and artdirector Chandrashekhar More were felicitatedwith Udyog Ratna Award.

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Consul General of the Republic of Koreain Mumbai, Seok- Gu Jang has saidthat Korea is actively participating in

the ‘Make in India’ programme with a num-ber of Korean companies already manufac-turing in India, particularly in Maharashtra.

Mentioning that Korean companies,including steel major Posco, electronic con-sumer good giant LG and elevator makerHyundai are already manufacturing inMaharashtra, the Consul General assuredthat Korea’s participation in Maharashtrawill increase further, as investment climate inMaharashtra is improving. The Consul Gen-eral was speaking to the Governor of Maha-rashtra Ch Vidyasagar Rao at Raj Bhavan,Mumbai during a courtesy call, recently.

TKorea to enhanceparticipation in ‘Make inMaharashtra’

Chocolate major Mars lands in Pune

Strengthen ITIs forskill development amongthe youth

In a big boost to manufacturing inMaharashtra, Mars International India, awholly owned subsidiary of leading global

chocolate maker Mars Inc, will be investing`1,005 crore in a greenfield project to makechocolates at Khed, near Pune. This is oneof company’s largest projects for a localmarket anywhere in the world.

The memorandum of understanding(MoU), signed between the State Govern-ment and Mars International India, will giveMaharashtra a third chocolate factory afterCadbury and Ferrero Rocher. The MoU was

signed by Apurva Chandra, PrincipalSecretary, Industries and M.V. Natrajan,Managing Director, Mars International India(Chocolate) in the presence of Chief MinisterDevendra Fadnavis and Minister forIndustries Subhash Desai. “With FerreroRocher and Cadbury already present, Pune isfast emerging as a chocolate manufacturinghub. Yet another step towards @makeinin-dia...,” Devendra Fadnavis tweeted later.

The Mars project is expected to generatedirect and indirect employment opportuni-ties for over 1,200 people.

Signed copy of the MoU being exchanged between Apurva Chandra and M.V. Natarajan, GeneralManager, Mars Chocolates India. Devendra Fadnavis, Subhash Desai and Ehab AbouOaf are also seen

Subhash Desai, Minister for Industries, Maharashtra

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To encourage educated, unemployedyouth set up businesses in ruralareas, the Government will provide

infrastructure to small and mediumenterprises (SMEs), said Chief MinisterDevendra Fadnavis. The Chief Minister wasinaugurating Microplast Polytex Industries atSamdrapur. Union Minister for Surface

Transport Nitin Gadkari was also presenton the occasion.

The Chief Minister said, “SMEs generatemaximum local employment, hence, there isneed for special policy in this regard.”For Vidarbha and Marathwada,self-employment opportunities will be madeavailable for unemployed youth throughSkill Development and EntrepreneurshipDepartment. “By implementing specialprogramme, skilled manpower willbe generated,” he added.

Nitin Gadkari said, instead of seekingemployment opportunities, Vidarbha’s youthshould themselves become entrepreneurs andcreate job opportunities. Sons of farmersshould come forward and create employmentopportunities by starting processed industriesbased on cotton, soybean, pulses and otheragriculture produce. While giving impetus toindustrial development in Vidarbha, effortsare being made for development ofHyderabad–Nagpur Industrial Corridor.

Encouragement to small and medium enterprises

The Union Minister for Telecommunica-tions and Information Technology, RaviShankar Prasad presented the IIIrd Web

Ratna Awards to various government depart-ments recognising their sustainable initiativesfor e-Governance for better delivery ofinformation and services at New Delhi.

For Innovative Use of Technology, thesilver award was won by E-Sahakar, an onlinecooperative society process managementsystem of Maharashtra Government.Maharashtra also bagged the platinum awardfor Comprehensive Web Presence-Statecategory for the year 2014.

The third edition of Web Ratna Awards2014 was jointly organised by the NationalInformatics Centre (NIC) and Department ofElectronic and Information Technology underthe ambit of India Portal (http://india.gov.in).

The Director, Information TechnologyDepartment Virendra Singh accepted the

platinum award for e-tendering. Speakingon the occasion, he said that the InformationTechnology Department of MaharashtraGovernment is continuously doingexemplary work in the sector. The State hasbecome an ideal in IT for other States.The e-tendering portal proves thetransparent and speedy functioning ofthe Government.

The Commissioner, Co-operation, Chan-drakant Dalvi, while accepting the e-Sahakaraward, said, the portal provides informationof all cooperative institutions of the State.The portal is the result of the efforts offormer Principal Secretaries, Co-operationRajgopal Deora and Shailesh Kumar Sharma.It has information of 54 types of cooperativeinstitutions and 2.39 lakh cooperativeinstitutions. The portal provides informationabout yearly elections of cooperativeinstitutions, their registration and audit.///

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The Consul General informed the Gover-nor that the Gangui Province of Korea has asister-state relationship with Maharashtra. Hesaid that 1,500 Koreans are working in Maha-rashtra, mostly in Pune and Mumbai, in asdiverse areas as shipping, finance, tradingand construction. Seok-Gu Jang assured thathe will make serious efforts to furtherenhance the trade, commerce and culturalrelations between India and Korea. Welcom-ing the assurance of the Consul General ofKorea to enhance participation of Korea in

‘Make in Maharashtra’initiative, the Governortold him that Maharash-tra has tremendouspotential for tourism,and felt that, apart fromtrade and commerce,student exchange andcultural exchange shouldalso be promoted.

K

Ikea to invest `̀600 crorein Maharashtra

Ikea India, the Indian subsidiary ofSwedish furniture retailer Ikea, hassigned a Memorandum of Under-

standing with the Maharashtra Govern-ment to invest ̀ 600 crore for setting uptwo-three outlets in the State, creatingaround 1,000 jobs per outlet. Welcom-ing the MoU, Maharashtra Chief MinisterDevendra Fadnavis said it will boost localindustry and export, besides employ-ment generation and giving prominenceto the State globally.

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Union Minister for Telecommunications and Information Technology, Ravi Shankar Prasad awardsthe winners from Maharashtra

Dignitaries at the launch of Microplast PolytexIndustries at Samdrapur

(From left)Consul General,Republic ofKorea in Mumbai,Seok- Gu Jangwith MaharashtraGovernor, ChVidyasagar Raoat Raj Bhavan inMumbai

National Award to e-Sahakar and e-Tendering portal

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The biggest religious event for Hindus, the Kumbha Melawill begin in the auspicious land of Nashik andTrimbakeshwar in July. The District Administration is

trying its best to remainaheadof the times and ensure that thereis no stone left unturned in presenting a grand spectacle. Thepreparationshave gainedmomentum in last fewdays, thanks toMinister forWaterResources,KharLandandNashikGuardianMinister Girish Mahajan. The Minister has been visitingNashik every week to take stock of the situation. His regularcontacts with the officials, swift actions and quick decisionshave put the preparations in a fast gear. Senior journalistVivekBhavsarmeets GirishMahajan to knowmore about the effortsbeing made by the State Government to make the SinhasthaKumbhMela a success. Excerpts:

Q. Please tell us about the preparations done for theKumbh Mela.A. Organising the Kumbh Mela is not really a challenge forus. We are sure that millions of people and holy saints

expected to be in Nashik and Trimbakeshwar July onwardswill not face any difficulties. There would be no complaints. Ibelieve that we have to pass this test with 100 per cent, andmy team is committed to it. Of course, it’s only possible withthe joint efforts of everyone.

Q. Tell us about the stay arrangements at the shrines.A. The Sinhastha Kumbh Mela is being held at Nashik andTrimbakeshwar for years. There are three sects or camps ofVaishnava followers at Nashik and 10 camps of Shaivafollowers at Trimbakeshwar. Sadhugram will be built inNashik on 283 acres. In the same city, there is huge land thatbelongs to religious organisations. We will use 33 acre of thisland to accommodate sadhus and mahants. At Trim-bakeshwar, 10 akhada or camps have their own land. Besides,Sadhugram will be built on 15 acres of land. On the lines ofSadhugram, Bhavikgramwill be built for devotees so that thecrowd is evenly distributed.

Q. How many devotees are expected to be present inboth the places? Tell us about the planning done.A. During the event, we expect 50 lakh devotees to visit theshrine cities of Nashik and Trimbakeshwar everyday. On theday of Shahi Snans,more than a crore devotees are expected tobe in the city. Hence, we have plannedminutely to ensure thatthe transport system does not collapse. We are taking specialcare so that local population does not face the stress of pilgrims.There will be private vehicles available to devotees to reachNashik and Trimbakeshwar. For devotees who will reach bypublic transport, 3,000 buses of Maharashtra State TransportCorporationwill be available. I am sure the servicewill benefitat least 50 lakh devotees everyday.

Q.Presence of lakhs of visitors canpose sanitation andhealth problems. Do you have any planning for these?A.We plan to build 22,000 temporary toilets for devotees andsaints. Another point worth mentioning is that the corporatesector has shown keen interest in providing facilities ofpublic utilities, including toilets. The big names includeMahindra and Mahindra, Godrej and Reliance. Internalroads in Sadhugram, water supply, toilet, bathroom, electriclights and hospitals are other facilities that will be availableto the visitors.

Q. How will you solve the problem of pollution?Taking a dip in the holy river of Godavari is a subject of faith

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FACE-TO-FACESTATE CABINET MINISTER

“We aim to establishKumbhMela as a greenmela”

to many. To provide the devotees the facility, we have decidedto build pier (ghat) on the banks of the river. The berths willbe 3,990-metre-long in Nashik and 950-metre-long inTrimbakeshwar. At the same time, we will also take care ofthe beautification of the river. The administration has beengiven instructions to promote the campaign of pollution-freeriver among the devotees.

Q.Water supply andbed capacity in hospitals are otherareas of concern. Do you have any plans on expandingthese facilities?A. Of course, we have. Nashik Civil Hospital will see anincrease in bed capacity with 200 additional beds. We aretransforming the rural hospital at Trimbakeshwar, so thatextra beds are available. A water supply scheme has beenundertaken at Gautami Godavari dam at Trimbakeshwar tofacilitate additional and ample drinking water. A waterpurification system is being built at Kushawart. We haveplanned to provide 472 MLDwater per day.

Q. Tell us about the parking arrangements.A. Three parking lots are being developed in Nashik, fourparking lots are being built at Trimbakeshwar and one atKavanai. Inaddition, thereare twoandsix internal parking lotsbeingdevelopedatTrimbakeshwarandNashik, respectively.Alloutsider vehicles will be parked at these lots. Devotees will beprovided public transport system to enter the cities from theseparking lots. State Transport Corporation is repairing anddeveloping bus stops. Construction of Deolali Bus Depot andrepairing of sheds andMahamarg BusDepot are in progress.

Q. Law and orderwill be a big responsibility. What arethe precautionary measures taken?A. That’s true. Gathering of millions of devotees will be amajor challenge before the security forces. I have giveninstructions to take all necessary steps to maintain securityof the devotees and citizens. The CCTV systemswill be put upat Nashik and Trimbakeshwar. Besides, watch tower,

barricades, bomb detection squad, wireless communicationsystems and public address systems will be made availableduring the KumbhMela.

Q. What is the amount allocated for Kumbh Mela?A. The State Government has sanctioned `2,378.78 crore forthe shrine; `476.26 crore has been provided by theDepartment of Urban Development and the Mantralaya hasprovided `898.90 crore.

Q.Are there any special features too?A. It’s our attempt to establish KumbhMela as a ‘green mela’.Environment-friendlygrowth is ourgoal.Weareworkingon theconcept and have taken measures to keep the river clean andpollution free. On the occasion of KumbhMela, foreign touristswill visit Nashik and Trimbakeshwar. Hence, Department ofTourismwill provide information of prime tourist places in theState to attract tourists. Besides, repair works are being takenbyDepartment ofArchaeology to protect the ancient temples atNashik and Trimbakeshwar. I am sure, Kumbh Mela will notonly give a global identity to Nashik, but will also benefitMaharashtra. It’s an opportunity for development.


Girish Mahajan (extreme right) in conversation with mahants in Nashik

CCOOMMMMIITTTTEEEESS IINN AACCTTIIOONN

High-Level Committees: To ensure systematic planning andsupervision of works, an apex committee chaired by ChiefMinister Devendra Fadnavis has been constituted. Anotherdistrict-level committee has been instituted under the GuardianMinister. A third high-level committee led by the ChiefSecretary is being made. The district-level committee takereviews of development activities every Tuesday.Coordination Committee: The State Government hasconstituted a committee to coordinate the works of KumbhMela chaired by Anand Kulkarni, Additional Chief Secretary,PWD. Dr. Nitin Kareer, Principal Secretary, Urban DevelopmentDepartment; Arup Patnaik, Managing Director, Police HousingDepartment; Vandana Krishna, Director General, Rajmata JijauWomen and Child; Manisha Mhaisakar-Patankar, PrincipalSecretary, Urban Development Department; Nashik DivisionalCommissioner; Commissioner of Police, N.B. Ringane; UnderSecretary of Finance Department, Dattatrya Thube;Superintendent Engineer of Design and Layout Department,Retd. IG T. S. Bhal; and Treasury Officer, B.G. Nirmal are othermembers of the committee.

AAUUSSPPIICCIIOOUUSS DDAAYYSS ((NNAASSHHIIKK AANNDD TTRRIIMMBBAAKKEESSHHWWAARR))

Hoisting of auspicious flag (Dhwaja Parv) Tuesday July 14, 2015

SSHHAAHHII SSNNAANN ((AAUUSSPPIICCIIOOUUSS BBAATTHH)) OOCCCCAASSIIOONNSS

Nashik First Saturday August 29, 2015

Second Sunday September 13, 2015

Third Friday September 18, 2015

Trimbakeshwar First Saturday August 29, 2015

Second Sunday September 13, 2015

Third Friday September 25, 2015

I

Every year, from March to July, Indiaproduces more than 1,000 varieties ofmango. But none of them are assucculent and tasty as the Alphonso.

Loyalists swear by its rich creaminess. Its flesh issaffron-coloured and without a hint of fibre. Thetaste is exquisitely sweet unlike any other varietyof mango, which has a hint of sourness andtartness in flavour aptly lending it the title of ‘Kingof fruits’. The fame of Alphonso, known locally asHapus, has spread so far andwide that consumersfrom markets like the USAhanker for the fruit.

Come summer and there is a rush for Hapus.Cartons are delivered to near and dear ones, forwhich courier companies like DHL run specialservices like Mango Express. Newspapers begin aseries of anxiety-ridden articles about the health ofthe crop. Such mango mania serves to make theAlphonso one of the most expensive mangoes.During the peak season, people do not mindspending as much as `1,000 for a dozen. Of all theAlphonso varieties, themango fromMaharashtra’sKonkan region is by far the best and tastiest.

According to Ajit Gogate, Chairman, DevgadTaluka Amba Utpadak Sahakari Sanstha, asociety of 700 farmers growingAlphonso inDevgadtaluka of Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurgdistricts alone produce 1.15 lakh tonnes ofAlphonso that fetch a premium in both domesticand exportmarkets. “TheHapus tops in quality forobvious reasons. The climate coupled with soilquality lends the mango the right weather


NUMBER ONERATNAGIRI ALPHONSO

AGIFTEDVARIETYThere is nothing aam about thekhaas Alphonso. The varietygrown in Ratnagiri has globalfootprints due to its outstandingquality, says SSaammeeeerr KK

(Clockwise from top) The journey of Alphonso: From farm to shelves in Maharashtra

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required at the right time. As a result, everymango is around 225-250 gm, the skin is thin, andflavour, colour and taste are unlike any othermango in the world,” he says.

The season for the Alphonso begins inFebruary–March and ends by May 15. Gogateestimates the total mango production to be around2.5 lakh tonnes all across Konkan. Ratnagiri,Sindhudurg and Raigad together have around1,30,000 hectares dedicated to its cultivation.Mangoes grown in Ratnagiri district, the largestproducer, carry the Geographical Indication tag.

In these districts,Alphonso is muchmore thana fruit. Besides farmers, hundreds of thousands ofpeople are employed as support staff, transportoperators and workers in processing and canningfactories that process the fruit to make productslike pulp, pickles and drinks. In Devgad, whichcomprises the largest chunk of production withinthe two districts, Alphonso grows on over 45,000acres and reaches 50,000 tonnes of production in anaverage year. Over 5,000 farmer households and2,000 other families depend on theAlphonso in thetaluka. This year, mango growers hope to cross themark of `1 crore through online sales. The Societyhad also begunmango bonds to enticemoremangolovers into the net. In this, mango buyers canpurchase a mango bond, worth say `5,000, andpurchase the amount’s worth of mangoes in theentire season. Retail chains have also emergedas major buyers.

A ‘MADE IN INDIA’ BRANDThis season, mango producers from Maharashtraexpect to export around 45,000 tonnes to overseasmarkets, senior officials from the StateHorticulture Department say. Around 2,500growers have registered themselves onMangonet,the new online initiative from Agricultural andProcessed Food Products Export DevelopmentAuthority (APEDA) to be eligible for export.According to APEDA, around 41,280 tonnes ofmangoes were exported to the Middle East, South-East Asia and the US last year. Around 1.86 lakhhectares are under mango cultivation, andaccordingly, around 2,000 Alphonso growers and500 Kesar growers have registered on Mangonet.Exports to new markets such as Mauritius andAustralia are also likely to begin from this season.

Last year, mango export had run into troublewhen the European Union (EU) decided to ban theIndian Alphonso over concerns of high-levelcontamination. This year,EUhas lifted the ban, butthe exporters need to give mangoes hot water

E


TheHapustops in quality forobvious reasons.The climatecoupledwith soilquality lends themango the rightweather requiredat the right time.As a result, everymango is around225-250 gm, theskin is thin, andflavour, colour andtaste are unlikeany othermangoin theworld.—Ajit GogateChairman, DevgadTaluka Amba UtpadakSahakari Sanstha

treatment before exporting. The National PlantProtection Organisation (NPPO)—the phytosani-tary certification body authorised by the Centre—hasnowmade itmandatory formangoes to undergothe treatment.According toAPEDA, a sensitisationprogramme has been organised at Ratnagiri.Exporters are also part of this initiative to helpgrowers understand the needs of export.

Officials say, the country exportsmangoes to 72countries, while mango pulp is exported to 141countries. This year, in addition to EU, growers arelooking at Bangladesh, UK, Saudi Arabia andNepal.Arecent study said thatEU imports over 224millionkg ofmangoeswith a value of approximately265million euros. TheGulf accounts for 20 per centof the Indian export market. Significantly, lastyear, maximum quantity of mangoes went toFrance, Germany, New Zealand, Switzerland andthe UK. Other markets include Saudi Arabia,Oman, Kuwait, Singapore, the UAE, Hong Kong,and Bahrain.

OF EXPORTQUALITY� Total mangoproduction isestimated to bearound 2.5 lakhtonnes all acrossKonkan. � Ratnagiri—thelargest producer—with Sindhudurg andRaigad have 1,30,000ha dedicated tomango cultivation.� India exportsmangoes to 72countries and mangopulp to 141 countries.The major exportsare to the MiddleEast, South-East Asiaand the US. � Last year,maximum quantity ofmangoes wereexported to France,Germany, NewZealand, Switzerlandand the UK. �With mango bonds,buyers can buy abond of a certainamount andpurchase mangoesworth it in the entireseason

M

In2010, I finally accomplishedmy first trip to the commercialcapital of India. Mumbai was the first halt in our WesternIndia sojourn,which clearlyhad favouredGoamore thananyother spot.Twodayswereallocated toMumbai travel andwe

had to cover as many destinations as possible before we head toGoa. We began with the Taraporevala Aquarium, followed byfeasting on Maharashtrian food at a local restaurant in Bandra,and steadily moved to Gateway of India. It was afternoon by thetimewe reached themonument.Having fed thepigeons thatmarkthe area in abundance and done with our photo-sessions, wedecided to take a tour of the celebrated Elephanta Caves that lieapproximately 10 km from themonument.

The seventh century cave complexwas themostmanageablecaves for us to see during the trip. Considering one needs to bein Aurangabad to see Ajanta and Ellora, Elephanta’s nearnessto Mumbai helped pressed-for-time tourists like us. Our driversaid that it will take us an hour by ferry from Apollo Bunder toreach the Elephanta Island. Once on the island, visitors need toclimb over 1,000 stone steps to get to the caves. While thechildren get a toy train ride up to the caves, the commutebecomes slightly tiring for the elderly. The entire trip to thecaves takes about five to six hours, the driver said.

AHERITAGE SITEThough it started as plain sightseeing,Elephanta turned out to bemuchmore. TheWorldHeritageSite housesmagnificent rock-cuttemples dedicated to Lord Shiva dating back to the 5th-6thcentury.Originally calledGharapuri—thePortuguese renamed itElephanta after they found a large stone elephant near the placethey landed—the temples had been built by carving out rocks tocreate columns, internal spaces and images.

The complex covers an area of 60,000 sq. ft. and consists of amain chamber, two lateral chambers, courtyards and severalsubsidiary shrines. It also has religious motifs, which depictvarious forms of Lord Shiva. There are seven caves dedicated toShiva’s avatars, namely Andhakasuravadha (the demon ofdarkness), Kalyanasundara (the gentle loving god), Ardhan-arishwara (Shiva and Shakti as one), Nataraja (Shiva as cosmicdancer) and as Ravana Anugraha (destroyer of enemies).

Themost famous sculpture here is of Trimurti Sadasiva formof Lord Shiva. The statue rises up to a height of 20 feet and iscarved as a three-headedShiva. The right face represents theGodas a youth with sensuous lips, signifying life and vitality. Theright half of the face resembles that of Lord Brahma, the creatorof Uma or Vamadeva, the female form of Shiva. The left half-faceof the statue is that of a young man who has moustache anddisplays anger, signifying Aghora Bhairava, the destroyer. Theface from the front seems to be in a meditative pose as a Yogi,presenting Shiva praying for the protection of humanity.

The heritage site had been threatened by rapid industrialdevelopment in the vicinity for years. Picnickers littering thesurroundings, incidents of tourists perching atop structuresand vandalism by visitors to the site had brought damage to the


WANDERLUSTELEPHANTA CAVES

Beauty in

The cave complex of Elephanta, a protectedheritage site off Mumbai, got a boostwhen it was mentioned in the Union Budgetto be allocated resources for developmentof tourism, says PPaallllaavvii SSiinngghh

stone(Clockwise from top)A view of the cavecomplex, a lady visitorclicking photographs,toy train, a sculpture,tourists at Elephanta,and statue ofTrimurti Sadasiva atthe cave complex

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monument. Putting all these woes behind, the world’s oldestisland caves are in the process of getting a new lease on life. TheIndia National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH)has teamed upwith the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) tospruce up the caves and protect them from further decay anddegeneration. The joint efforts of Government of India, INTACHandUNESCO aim to clean up the surroundings, prevent tourists

frompilferage andprotect the caves fromvandalism.The recentlyannounced Union Budget has brought good news for Elephantawith the FinanceMinister announcing plans to refurbish the site,provide helipad facilities and power to the cave complex.

A visit to the caves left me with a marvellous feeling for thedeeply developed skills of the sculptors and architects of yore,who left no stone unturned, and quite literally so, to create amarvel in stone. Not to mention a sense of pride for our reveredpast. The island is a naturalist’s paradise, with a quiet andpicturesque facade amidst light green foliage, a place steeped inhistory, and a place that attracts the young and the old alike.The annual dance festival held at the Elephanta Island complexevery February is an added attraction. Did you hearme say, it’sa must visit? Yes, I certainly said so. Bon voyage!


Oncean abode of Lord Shiva, the cavecomplex covers an area of 60,000 sq. ft andhas a main chamber, two lateral chambers,courtyards and subsidiary shrines.Its motifs depict various forms of the God

Weoften love to hold onto things thatevoke memories of our cherishedpast. Nomatter how old they get andhow deep we dig them in our

grandma trunks, but the fact that they still belongto us makes us feel secure. It’s the same feeling ofnostalgia that hits me with some good oldmemories when I see the Solapur chaddar with abeautiful peacock pattern tucked neatly inside mybed box. It’s a tattered piece of cloth though, still, tome it feels as cozy as it used to be almost fourdecades ago, when my grandparents bought it forus as a souvenir on their way back fromMaharashtra. It may not be a rich bedcover, butdefinitely it’s one of those “very peculiar” chaddarsthat one will never find elsewhere in the world. Infact, those days, even beforewewere exposed to theinternational brands, all other bed sheets wereconsidered inferior quality than the Solapur ones,

not just for their design, but also because theyoutlived all the other varieties. Probably it is thereason Solapur chaddar and towels are still worldfamous, though the original art is fading away.Once a bustling textile town, Solapur enjoyed

the status of being the leading centre for cottonmills and power looms in India for a very longtime. Apparently, it used to be world’s secondlargest andAsia’s number one city withmaximumpowermills, which is why it was often compared tothe northern city of Manchester in the UK.History says it was Srimant Madhavrao

Peshvewho invitedweavers fromAndhra Pradeshto Solapur for establishing the industry and sincethen the city has thrived on the handloom venture.Actually, its geographical location also plays apivotal role because even though Solapur is locatedin south of Maharashtra, it happens to be agateway to Karnataka andAndhra Pradesh.


Maharashtra’s rich tradition of weaving Solapurchaddars has attracted worldwide attention.It is set to grow further, as the Governmentis upbeat about reviving the handloom sector inSolapur, says DDeeeeppiikkaa KKhhuurraannaa

JACQUARD

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SPREAD

CULTURE CURRYSOLAPUR CHADDARS

VARIETIES OF SOLAPUR CHADDARSWhen it comes to trends in Solapur chaddars, therearemanyvarieties,which are categorised accordingto weavingmethods such as Jacquard chaddars (inwhich the fabric has intricately woven or anelaborate pattern), pick by pick chaddars, alsoknown as Mayurpankh chaddars, and Dobbychaddar, which usually has geometrical patterns.Based on the demand, chaddars are manufacturedwith a variety of yarns and materials like cotton,filament, rayon, velvet and cashmilon. Thebedsheets can also be categorised as per size, whichmayvary fromregular to large andking-size sheets.Matching the pace of technology-driven world,

Solapur city too has seen advancement in textileindustry, asmost of the traditional power looms arenow replaced with rapier looms and air jet looms.With the upgrade, there is more flexibility in theproduct rangeand increasedproductivity at reducedcost. Production of these bedsheetsmay vary as perthe quality and the type of machine it is weaved on.For instance, ona rapiermore than50 chaddars canbe produced per shift, whereas on traditional powerloom only 15 to 20 chaddars can bemanufactured.

REVIVALOFADYINGARTWith the chaddars now manufactured as per


KNOW SOLAPUR� Solapur is a cityin southeasternMaharashtra, nearthe Karnatakaborder. Consideringits location, the cityis a transport hubconnectingMaharashtra,Karnataka andAndhra Pradesh. Amelting pot with aconfluence ofMarathi, Telugu andKannada languages,the town has manysmall and mediumscale industries,especiallycotton mills andpower looms. � Solapur is knownfor its historical,religious, industrialand commercialimportance. GroundFort, SiddheshwarTemple, MallikarjunaTemple, ParasnathTemple, AdinathTemple, mosques,churches and Agyariare its attractions.The VatavrikshaTemple of Shri SwamiSamartha andAkkalkot Swami Mathare importantreligious places,which are visited bymany. Pandharpur,the city of PandhaviVithoba, is anotherimportant pilgrimagecentre here.

Thenewtextile policyaims at a single-window approvalprocess, 20 to 40per cent subsidyfor setting uptextile mills,easier pollutionnorms, reducedpower tariff andall facilitiesto convert “fibreto fashion”

customer’s requirements, there are many newdesigns that have come to the bedsheets, but havefailed to take away the heritage of Solapurchaddars. Though the chaddar received Geogra -phical Indication in 2004, the number of millsmaking the home furnishing dwindled and manylooms moved out of the town. According to the localresidents, the handloom industry is in bad shapeand needs attention and aid. On an average, if8,000 to 10,000 power looms producing Solapurchaddars existed a decade ago, today the city hasjust 3,000-4,000. Reasons vary from duplicationof their original art form, to competition fromChina or even to their old-fashioned Jacquardlooms, which could not keep up with the changingconsumer tastes. But amidst all this, the Maharashtra Govern -

ment is upbeat about reviving the handloom sectorin Solapur. The new proposed textile policy to boostthe State’s economy aims at a single-windowapproval process, 20 to 40 per cent subsidy forsetting up textile mills, easier pollution norms,reduced power tariff and all facilities nearby toconvert “fibre to fashion.” The initiatives aim towoo industrialists and entrepreneurs to investheavily in the sector so that the State can becomea textile mega-hub once again.

Casting an eye on the sharp peaks of theSahyadri, one sees a multitude of fortsbuilt by the freedom-loving people of theland. The sightwill convince the observer

that this indeed is a land of citadels, along theghats and the long sea coast. Besides the 85 seaforts, Maharashtra could perhaps have nearly 500forts in its once martial territory.

There are records of caves and forts built duringthe Satavahana era to those erected by theVakatakas, Kalchuri, Chalukya, Abheer, Sendrak,Gond, Shilahar, Yadavs and Marathas later. Theforts were put to their best use by the singulargenius ofChatrapati ShivajiMaharaj. Besides thesedynasties, the Bahamanis too built forts and so didthe Portuguese, French and the English. TheAbyssinian Siddis built forts like the unconqueredJanjira near Murud. It is to Maharashtra’s creditthat forts were built by such a rich diversity of

n


HERITAGEJANJIRA JAL-DURG

THEUNDEFEATED FORTNowhere in the world is a place as Maharashtra that has seen forts built byvarious rulers over centuries. In our new series on these power-packed monuments,we begin with the most impressive Janjira Jal-durg. Words by NNiinnaadd BBeeddeekkaarr

(Clockwise from top) A viewof Janjira, a stone carving atthe entrance of the fort, andsailboats from Rajapuri jettyto Janjira

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rich chapter from our past will inspire our youth.The English have not forgotten Horatio

Nelson, their foremost Admiral. On October 21,1805, near the port of Trafalgar near Spain,Nelson led the English navy against the Frenchand Spanish and defeated them. Before the battle,from Royal Navy’s most famous warship HMSVictory, he flashed a famousmessage to his ships,“England expects everymanwill do his duty!” Themessage spurred his men to fight spiritedly andwin the battle. Nelson was shot from a gun from aFrench ship, and as he lay dying, he heard of hisfamous victory. His last words were, “Thank GodI have done my duty!”

The English have immortalised Nelson bypreserving his ship HMS Victory at Portsmouth

along with all its medieval weapons and contents.On October 21 every year, the famous victory iscelebrated with sound of bugles. A parade is held,and led by the historical event at Trafalgar, theyouth are inspired to serve their country.

We can achieve the same at Janjira Jal-durg.AtVasai, we can show the exploits of the bravemenunder Chimaji Appa. Angre, Dhulap and Gujarwere Sarkhels of theMarathaswho struck terror inthe hearts of foreign powers. The Marathi gurab,galbat, galley, batela, fattemara, mahagirya,manja, tarandi, kothe and paal were various kindsof warships that ruled the sea. The age-old axiom,“One who has a Navy will rule the seas” can becarved in stone on these historic shores.

—The writer is an eminent historian, writerand Chief Advisor for Fort Restoration Committee.The article is co-authored by Dr. Uday S. Kulkarni

nations and rulers that it is difficult to find aparallel anywhere in the world.

These forts have a rich history, as rich as thediverse fort architecture. Tanaji Malusare,MurarbajiDeshpandeandBajiPrabhuDeshpande’sstirring deeds are well known, but the exploits ofRamaji Pangera, Layaji Koli Sarpatil, KondajiFarzand are not as well known. Murarji Anjurkar,Baji Bhivrao and Yesji Kamthe’s stirring deeds willperhaps be known to very few.

The story of Layaji Koli stands apart. Janjirawas a fort built by the Siddis for the Nizamshahibetween 1567 and 1571 and was unconquered.Surrounded by water and with 22 bastionsmountedwith guns, it was a challenge accepted byShivaji Maharaj. Layaji Koli, a bold young manfrom Alibag, was given the onerous responsibilityof placing ladders against thewell-guardedwalls ofJanjira. To place ladders on these walls was notdifferent from placing one’s hands in the jaws of atiger. Once the ladders were in place, the plan wasto haveMoropant Pingale bring theMaratha navyto attack Janjira. The expeditionwas fraught withimmense danger.

Layaji set out with the ladders on his boat,riding the familiar waters of the sea, and reachedJanjira unobserved by the guards. With his team,he unloaded the ladders and managed to placethem against the fort walls, and began waiting forthe armada. But the ships could not reach the fort!Waiting all night, Layaji returnedwith his laddersas day broke.

ShivajiMaharaj learnt of this daring exploit andsummoned Layaji. “You have performed a heroicdeed. You have the heart of a tiger. Pant, Layajimust be given a palakhi (palanquin).” But Layajidemurred. “We are men of the sea. What will I dowithapalakhi?”Then theking orderedMoropant tobuild Layaji a ship and name it Palakhi.

This valiant history of theMaratha navy can beerectedand immortalisedbya soundand light show.Thenavy restricted theEuropeansand theSiddis onthe coast, and protected it. Commemorating this


Visits to the seaforts ofJanjira, Sindhudurg, Vijaydurg,Khanderi, Suvarnadurg, Arnala,Alibag and Vasai can inspireIndia’s youth. All we need to do isto share their legendary stories

AANN AARRCCHHIITTEECCTTUURRAALLSSPPEECCTTAACCLLEE

Situated on anoval-shaped rock

near the port town ofMurud, 165 km south ofMumbai, Janjira is one ofthe strongest marineforts of India. The wordJanjira is a corruption ofthe Arabic word Jazeerafor island. The fort issurrounded by water onall sides and that is why isalso referred as islandfort or Jal-durga. Thisamazing structure wasbuilt by Malik Ambar, whowas an Abyssinianminister in the court ofthe Sultan of Ahmednagar.Janjira was built duringthe end of the 17thcentury and haswithstood the tests oftime. It stands at animpressive height of 40feet, bounded by highwalls on all sides. It hasendured the lashes of thesea waves through agesand still stands strong.

The fort has 19 roundedbastions, still intact.There are many canons ofnative and Europeanmake, rusting on thebastions. Now in ruins,the fort in its heyday hadall necessary facilities,such as palaces, quartersfor officers, mosque anda big fresh water tank,among others. On theouter wall flanking themain gate, there is asculpture depicting atiger-like beast claspingelephants in its claws.This sculpture, itsmeaning difficult tointerpret, appears on themany fort-gates ofMaharashtra.

Singh (Chhattisgarh), Harish Rawat (Uttarakhand), and DelhiDeputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.

A volley of questions was thrown by Sardesai. However,Maharashtra Chief Minister floored the audience with hisfirm-yet-cool style. As an opening batsman, he batted well toprove his point. For answering a developmental issue—whether the State of Gujarat has an edge over other States—Devendra Fadnavis was chosen to open the match. The ChiefMinister, with great poise, said that the race for acquiring the‘numero uno’ position amongst the States should be lookedupon as a healthy practice and not otherwise. Rather, theStates should work in tandem and develop a sense of fair andhealthy competition. This would not only breed a sense ofperforming better for one’s State, but would also try toemulate healthy practices and effective models amongst them.“Our focus should be the prosperity of our respective States


Work as Team India. When Centre and States go hand-in-hand, India would prosper,” said DevendraFadnavis at the India Today Conclave organised in

New Delhi recently. The Maharashtra Chief Minister wascandid and confident about his governance and imple mentationof policies for State’s welfare. Emphasising his point of view onsome of the major gutsy decisions taken by his Government, hewent all out to prove that the decisions are backed by dignifiedintentions and in the wider interests of people.

Aman with serious and sincere intentions and all set to leadMaharashtra to prosperity, Devendra Fadnavis participated inthe State Chief Ministers’ session during the conclave organisedby the India Today Group annually. The session, moderated byGroup’s Consulting Editor, Rajdeep Sardesai, witnessed varyingthoughts from State leaders. The distinguished panel includedChief Ministers Manoharlal Khattar (Haryana), Dr. Raman

CENTRE-STATE TEAM FOR A PROSPEROUS INDIA

DELHI DIARYFROM THE CENTRE

(From left) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis (centre) speaking at the India Today Conclave and a packed-house at the event in New Delhi

NNAATTIIOONNAALL WWOORRKKSSHHOOPP OONNPPUUBBLLIICC RREELLAATTIIOONNSS IINN GGOOVVEERRNNMMEENNTT

Afirst-of-its kind public relations’ workshop wasorganised by Maharashtra Information Centre in NewDelhi from March 2-4. The workshop held at the YMCA

Hostel was meant to provide an insight into the advancedmedia technology and trends in social media and its effectiveusage by Government officials. Senior Information and PublicRelations Officers from Maharashtra and other Indian Statesand Union Territories were invited.

Union Minister of State with Independent Charge forEnvironment and Forests and Climate Change, PrakashJavadekar inaugurated the workshop. Addressing thegathering informally, he said, “The influence of emergingsocial media trends has increased by the day; it needs to bewelcomed as an opportunity and not as a challenge.”

Underlining the importance of new emerging trends ofmedia, he shared his varied and valuable experience of abrief stint as Union Information and Broadcasting Minister.

H

MoEF Minister Prakash Javadekar (centre) addresses the workshop

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NNTTCC GGIIVVEESS LLAANNDD FFOORR BBAABBAASSAAHHEEBB AAMMBBEEDDKKAARRMMEEMMOORRIIAALL;; PPMM TTOO AATTTTEENNDD TTHHEE BBHHOOOOMMIIPPUUJJAANN

Prime Minister Narendra Modi witnessed a tripartiteagreement between Union Ministry of Textiles,Government of Maharashtra and National Textile

Corporation, for transfer of 12 acres of land adjacent to theChaityabhoomi in the Indu Mills Compound in Mumbai, wherethe last rites of Babasaheb Ambedkar were performed.

The agreement, signed at the initiative of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, paves the way for resolving the long-pendingissue of transfer of land from the National Textiles Corporationto the Government of Maharashtra to enable construction of abefitting memorial for Bharat Ratna Babasaheb Dr. B.R.Ambedkar. Maharashtra Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis, andUnion Minister of State for Textiles, Santosh Gangwar, whowitnessed the agreement signing in New Delhi, thanked thePrime Minister for his initiative in removing the hurdles intransfer of land. Devendra Fadnavis said a beautiful memorialwould now be constructed for Babasaheb. Prime MinisterNarendra Modi has assured his presence in Mumbaifor the bhoomipujan of the memorial.

MMAARRAATTHHII BBHHAASSHHAA GGAAUURRAAVV DDIINN OOBBSSEERRVVEEDD

If we expect our mother tongue to stay alive forever, then itbecomes our duty to speak in the same language with ourchildren without any inhibitions. The sentiment was echoed

on the Marathi Bhasha Gaurav Din by Member of Parliamentfrom Delhi, Mahesh Giri at Maharashtra Sadan. The event wasorganised by Maharashtra Information Centre.

Marathi Bhasha Gaurav Din is celebrated on thebirth anniversary of eminent Marathi poet Kusumagraj. Thefirst Marathi-speaking MP elected from Delhi was veryclear in voicing his concerns on mother tongue andits legacy, and went further to say that the education of achild should be in one’s mother tongue. This would make hima confident person. Member of Parliament RamdasAthavale seconded Mahesh Giri’s sentiments and addedthat the Dalit literature has gone a long way in makingMarathi literature strong.

aiming at nation’s prosperity,” he said. Welcoming NITI Aayog’s recommendation of cooperative

federalism, he added that the concept would help in attainingcompetitive federalism. He said that Maharashtra Governmenthas put its best foot forward to attract more and moreinvestments and generate maximum employment.

Asserting his point on whether the States are fiscallyresponsible, Devendra Fadnavis said that every State has towork as per its set priorities. “Climatic conditions, demographicconditions, agriculture and other trade-related activities definea State’s priorities. Accordingly, my priority would be to improvethe adverse agrarian crisis,” he said, adding, “Providingsubsidised electricity, provision of basic amenities to farmersand bringing about balanced regional development are someissues on my priority list, which needs to be executed withimmaculate planning, immense determination and grit, callingfor fiscal responsibility.”

—Amarjyot Kaur Arora, IO, MIC, New Delhi

MMAAHHAARRAASSHHTTRRAA HHEEAALLTTHH MMIINNIISSTTEERR SSEEEEKKSSCCEENNTTRREE’’SS AASSSSIISSTTAANNCCEE OONN SSWWIINNEE FFLLUU

The State sought a financial assistance of `100 crorefrom the Centre to ouster swine flu outbreak, informedPublic Health Minister Dr. Deepak Sawant. In Delhi,

Dr. Sawant met Union Health Minister, J.P. Nadda todeliberate on the issue. Joining him were Members ofParliament, Rahul Shewale, Dr. Shrikant Shinde, Dr. PritamMunde, D. Heena Gavit, Shrirang Barne, Arvind Sawant andKrupal Tumhane. Later informing about the discussions, Dr.Sawant said, the Union Minister assured that medicines tocontrol the outbreak would be provided in sufficient amount.Centre’s instructions on the usage of masks have beensuitably followed by the State. These include maskN-95 to be used by patients and swine flu vaccination to beinjected to the health workers treating the patients. Tocontrol the situation, surveillance mechanism has beenstrengthened in rural areas and 100 ventilators have beenrequested from the Centre.

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He advised the Public Relations Officers to act as fire-fighters ofthe Government and build a strong rapport between theGovernment, media and the target audience. He said thatperception management should be the objective and one shouldspeak in people’s language. Periodical reviews should beundertaken, which would prove as an asset to the Government inthe long run. “Excellent public relations can be achieved andmaintained when we disseminate information using simple andlucid language. Out-of-the-box thinking is necessary and shouldbe applied while facing unusual incidents. In the era of moderntechnology, effective and brisk transmission of informationis the need of the hour and one should catch up with thisto be fit to survive,” he said.

Maharashtra State Director General of Information andPublic Relations, Chandrashekhar Oak said that such a workshopis the best platform for exchanging Government’s functions withother States. “This would go a long way in building a strongrelations amongst States and transforming the image of theGovernment in a better way,” he added.

Tapping information technology in a pro-gressive manner is the call of the day andMaharashtra Government has set the ball

rolling. In a significant move, the StateGovernment has launched a new portal for allGovernment-related bills. Inaugurating the BillPortal, Minister for Finance, Maharashtra, SudhirMungantiwar said, “For balanced development inthe State, there is need to make use of latestinformation technology.”

The portal is an online service developed by

the Director, Accounts and Treasury (DAT), withthe help of the National Informatics Centre(NIC). The Minister informed that the portalhas been launched keeping in mind itsusefulness in terms of bringing efficiency, speedand transparency in the day-to-day functioningof the Government. Congratulating the officersof DAT on the online utility service, he stressedon the need of technology to be used for servingthe last man. He appealed to all to strive hard toensure that the State remains at the top in thefield in future as well.

The launch saw the presence of Minister ofState for Finance, Deepak Kesarkar; PrincipalSecretary, Finance, Vijaykumar; Secretary,Accounts and Treasuries, Radhika Rastogi;Director, A.M. Naqvi; Shrikant Deshpande, ShriVyas, Nandini Kshirsagar of NIC and othereminent dignitaries. “The technology has madethe Government administration more powerful,bringing in transparency and efficiency in itsfunctioning,” said Deepak Kesarkar.

ABOUT THE BILL PORTALThe Bill Portal software is a thoughtfulinnovation meant to generate all types of bills inelectronic format for the Drawing and DisbursingOfficers, DDO. Barring salary and pension bills,all other types of bills will be generatedelectronically in this system. Bill portal is anintegral part of BEAMS system.

The DDOs will have to log in to the Bill Portalfor generating any bill. A DDO will fill theminimum required information. Most of thedetails will be captured initially as master datafiles, the data from which will be recalled for thegeneration of the bill. Budget availability will bewatched by the system. This is a bill-cum-authorisation slip. Initially, the system willprovide print-out of bills, which DDO will submitto treasuries. However, the bill data will beautomatically transmitted to treasuries for auditpurpose. Most of the interactive audit checksare added in this system, so that correctness ofeach claim is ensured. In the next phase,paperless bill concept will be implemented ifA.G. so permits.

Each bill here is divided into five parts:accounting information, core portion of the bill,payee details and certification by DDO, space forTreasury, and working space for A.G. office. Billhistory will be stored permanently on this portaland made available to any stakeholder as andwhen required.


IT PLATFORMBILL PORTAL

An innovation, Maharashtra Government’s Bill Portalis a one-stop destination when it comes to bills

The portal hasbeen launchedkeeping in mindits usefulness interms of bringingefficiency, speedand transparencyin the functioningof the State. Thenew technologyaims to servethe last man

ANEWPORTALFORBILLS

Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar (centre) launches the Bill Portal in Mumbai

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The Public Health Department of Maha-rashtra has launched a toll-free helpline toguide adolescents on issues related to

health as well as their personal, social andpsychological matters. Adolescent girls and boysacross the State can now call 18002332688anytime between 10 am and 6 pm for any issueand grievance. The helpline was inaugurated byAmruta Fadnavis, wife of Maharashtra ChiefMinister Devendra Fadnavis. Speaking at thelaunch, Minister for Public Health, Dr. DeepakSawant said, “The Maharashtra Government haslaunched the helpline to counsel adolescent boysand girls on their various needs and problemssuch as social, physical and psychological.”

The helpline has been set up under the aegisof National Adolescent Health Programme

(Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram), whichwas launched as a part of the National HealthMission. The Minister of State for Public Healthand Family Welfare, Prof. Ram Shinde was alsopresent on the occasion.

Adolescence is a phase of rapid physical growth,psycho-social development and transformation.The Government on its part realises thatinformation regarding such changes may not beavailable in schools and colleges, and any sort ofwrong information could lead to misunderstandingabout the preventive aspects. Many adolescentsface pressures from friends and family. While somehave to face issues of poverty and parentalproblems, others could be concerned about issueslike gender roles and dealing with past traumasuch as sexual abuse. Conflicts often lead to

violent behaviour amongst these teenagers.The helpline aims to protect the youth from

beingmisguided by quacks while encouraging themto seek guidance on all reproductive health-relatedissues from an authentic source. This helps preventcomplications with respect to an unwanted or earlypregnancy and bring down infant and mothermortality rate.

Currently, Maharashtra has about 500 adole-scent clinics at sub-district, rural and womenhospitals. These clinics are set up under RashtriyaKishor Swasthay Karyakram in nine districts ofDhule, Nandurbar, Jalgaon, Aurangabad, Jalna,Hingoli, Beed, Nanded and Gadchiroli.


YOUTH AFFAIRSHELPLINE

HELP,ACALLAWAYPublic Health Department of Maharashtra launches atoll-free helpline for the benefit of adolescents

TheGovernment has

launched the helplineto counsel adolescentboys and girls ontheir various needs andproblems such associal, physical andpsychological”—Dr. Deepak SawantMinister for Public Health

FEATURES OFTHE HELPLINEAND ITSBENEFITS� Expertcounsellors, onemale and onefemale, will beavailable between10 am and 6 pmon the toll-freenumber18002332688.� The servicecan be accessedfrom anywhere inthe State.� Identity of thecallers will be keptsecret, and willallow the youth tofreely discuss theirissues with thecounsellor incompleteconfidence.� The helpline willbe a usefulplatform forteenagers, who aretoo shy orembarrassed totalk about theirproblems with theirparents, siblings orfriends leading toseriousconsequences� The experts willguide adolescentsin the age group of10-19 on issues ofexam stress,harmful side-effects of drugs,tobacco andalcohol,reproductivehealth, sexualharassment andothers

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With an aim to prevent female foeticide and simulta-neously promote education among girls, the StateGovernment launched Mazi Kanya Bhagyashree

on International Women’s Day (March 8) in Mumbai. Thewelfare scheme is a revised version of Sukanya schemelaunched earlier by State’s Women and Child WelfareDepartment. A sumptuous financial provision of `200 crore hasbeen made for the new scheme.

The number of girls per thousand in comparison with boyshas been on the wane. It has come to State’s notice that thereason for the gap is female foeticide. Maharashtra Governmenthas enacted an Act for comprehensive remedial measures for

prevention of themenace.A comprehensive awareness campaignhas also been undertaken so that the people welcome birth of agirl child. Various schemes have been started with a view toencourage girl students towards education. Part of these hasbeen the Sukanya scheme. The scheme caters to girls from belowpoverty line (BPL) families. Under the scheme, the Governmentwas supposed to deposit an amount of ` 21,200 in bank for a girlchild born in a BPL family. The schemewas committed to provide`1 lakh to the girl when she turns 18. Launched in 2013, theambitious welfare scheme aimed at encouraging educationamong girls from economically weak backgrounds. Mazi KanyaBhagyashree, on the other hand, would be linked to Centre’s BetiBachao, Beti Padhao scheme.

“Participation from everyone is essential in the efforts toprevent female foeticide. We are also responsible for educationof girls and empowering them apart from just giving birth tothem. All the countries who received cooperation from womenin their development process are today developed nations. Forachieving total development, we must also seek fullestcooperation from women. If we implement the developmentalprocess taking women along with us, we can achieve twice thespeed in development,” said Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis,who launched Mazi Kanya Bhagyashree.

Pankaja Munde, Minister, Women and Child Development,said, “The right to be born as a girl child should be bestowed byher mother herself. Through Mazi Kanya Bhagyashree, theState Government will provide a girl child her right to be bornand support her to be educated.”

At the same event, the Government announced betterremuneration for Aanganwadi workers. The enhanced rates ofremuneration to Aanganwadi and support staff will beimplemented fromApril. The ChiefMinister praised theAangan-wadi workers for helping in building amalnutrition-free, healthyMaharashtra. The increase in percentage of women in State policeforce has empowered the force, he shared.

Film actress Bhagyashree Patwardhan, the brand ambassa-dor of Mazi Kanya Bhagyashree, said that instead of earmarkinga single day for women, they should receive honour and equality-based attention throughout the year.

WELFARE SCHEMEMAZI KANYA BHAGYASHREE

DREAMSFORDAUGHTERSThis Women’s Day, MaharashtraGovernment launched a scheme that aimsto curb female foeticide and empower girlsin the State, says IIrrsshhaadd BBaaggwwaann

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis (centre) with Maharashtra ministers during the launch of Mazi Kanya Bhagyashree


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Chief Minister DevendraFadnavis has said that themeasures taken by Nagpur

Municipal Corporation (NMC) inimproving water distribution sys-tem will be implemented in otherparts of Maharashtra as well. TheChief Minister was speaking atthe unveiling ceremony of PenchPhase-4 Water Supply Project ofNMC. The Union Minister forUrban Development VenkaiahNaidu dedicated the NagpurAugmented Water Supply Schemein the premises of water purifica-tion station in Godhni BhonsalaMilitary School Road, Nagpur.

Union Minister for SurfaceTransport and Shipping, NitinGadkari, Guardian MinisterChandrashekhar Bawankule, andNagpur Mayor Pravin Datkeand others were presenton the occasion.

Union Minister VenkaiahNaidu said, “Water is most pre-cious part of life. By undertakingwater conservation today, we canavoid perilous situation tomor-row. We must give a thought tomanage leaking, sewage andwastage of water to makeour tomorrow better. Everyoneshould participate in rainwaterharvesting. The successful

project of Nagpur will beimplemented across the countryas a role model.”

Chief Minister said that withthe creation of Nagpur MetroRegion, there will be a huge needof water. The growing populationrequires 1,400 MLD of water. Butat present only 700 MLD of wateris available. The NMC had pre-pared a scheme with the help ofMadhya Pradesh Government tomeet the additional requirementby the end of 2062. Now, theneed is to pursue the scheme inorder to reap the fruits in future.

Union Minister Nitin Gadkariin his address said that Nagpur isthe only city in India that supplieswater to citizens throughout theday. Though some wards get 24-hour water supply currently, theentire city will get it in coming sixmonths, he assured. He furthersaid that the Pench Phase-4 WaterSupply Scheme has been pre-pared by using the best technol-ogy in the world. However, sincethe water is being suppliedthrough canals, a lot of water waswasted by leakage and evapora-tion. But the problem has beensolved by supplying the waterthrough pipelines, saving water inlarger proportions, he said.

Chief Minister DevendraFadnavis thankedthe Centre for sanctioning

`2,000 crore relief packageas drought relief to the State.It is the highest ever fordrought-affected farmers.

However, the Chief Minister

said, the State Government hadalready disbursed relief tofarmers without waiting forCentre’s aid. So far, relief hasbeen given to 80 per centfarmers, he informed.

The relief package wasannounced by Union HomeMinister Rajnath Singh after adecision taken at a meeting ofthe high-level committee ofNational Disaster Management.Agriculture Minister RadhaMohan Singh said that the

amount has been sanctionedby the Committee underNational Disaster ResponseFund. Union Finance MinisterArun Jaitely was presentat the meeting.

The amount is almost fourtimes the amount of about `500crore sanctioned for the year2013, when the State has faceddrought. The drought of last yearwas severe due to poor mon-soon, affecting crop yields anddrinking water supply.

NAGPUR DRINKING WATER SYSTEM TO BEIMPLEMENTED ACROSS INDIA

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Chief Minister DevendraFadnavis appealed tocorporate houses to

make the State drought freeby participating in State’s flag-ship programme, JalyuktaShivar Abhiyan. By 2019, theState Government has set atarget to make 25,000villages drought-free. Hemade the appeal during aconclave jointly organised bythe State Government andDelivering Change Foundationin Sahyadri Guest House,Mumbai.

Minister of State for WaterConservation Vijay Shivtare;Chief Secretary SwadhinKshatriya; Principal Secretary,Water Conservation, PrabhakarDeshmukh; and Chairman,Delivering Change FoundationAbhijit Pawar were presenton the occasion.

Devendra Fadnavisannounced that corporate

houses helping the Governmentunder the scheme will be givenall the credit for playing animportant role in making thesevillages drought-free. The Gov-ernment also plans to link thisproject simultaneously withvarious schemes under oneumbrella, which would result infaster growth and developmentof the villages, he said.

Around 400 drought-hit vil-lages were adopted by the var-ious companies. Temple trustslike Siddhivinayak in Mumbaiand Shirdi Sansthan, assuredto donate `34 crore each forthe Jalyukta Shivar Abhiyan—thus, each trust earmarking `1crore for each of the 34 dis-tricts. The companies, throughcorporate social responsibilityhave accepted ChiefMinister’s appeal andpromised to help the StateGovernment wholeheartedly.

Ambuja Foundation, JSWFoundation, HUL Foundation,Reliance Foundation,Finolex, Asian Paints, Larsenand Toubro, Mahindraand Mahindra, Coca-Colaparticipated in the conclave.

MAHARASHTRARECENTMOVES

MAHARASHTRAGETS `̀2,000 CRORE

DROUGHTRELIEF FROM CENTRE

400 DROUGHT-PRONE VILLAGESUNDER JALYUKTASHIVAR ABHIYAN

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JAI MAHARASHTRA

“Awoman is no longerweaker”Women today are working shoulder to shoulder in areas whichonce were monopolised by men. In a true sense of the word,women today have made an indelible mark of their abilities inevery field in the era of information technology and socialnetworking. Recognising these capabilities, March 8 iscelebrated world over as International Women’s Day. Toobserve the day, Jai Maharashtra invited MaharashtraMinister for Women and Child Development, PankajaMunde for an interview.Women and Child Development is identified as

one of the most important departments of theGovernment. Preparation and implementation ofvarious schemes for helpless women, women withoutshelter and distressed women and children, and workingfor women development are the main responsbilities of thisdepartment. Pankaja Munde spoke in detail about theimplementation of Centre’s Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao scheme,Manodhairya scheme, Jijau Hostel scheme, Government-levelefforts for prevention of Devdasi system, and State

Commission for Women and the areas it addresses, besidesother important issues.The Sukanya scheme, meant for girls from BPL families,

has been relaunched with certain changes as Mazi KanyaBhagyashree. Welcoming the arrival of a girl child, preventionof foeticide and improvement in the birth rate of girl child arethe main objectives of this scheme. The Women and Child

Development Minister informed that Beti Bachao, BetiPadhao scheme will also be implemented throughthis medium simultaneously.Jalyukta ShivarAbhiyan, an initiative to

enhance water level in water scarcity affectedvillages, was another scheme Pankaja Munde talked

about. The scheme also aims at relieving women ofcarrying water vessels over their heads. “Women today areon the forefront in every field. She is not weaker anymore. Shehas become empowered,” she said, adding that Women andChild Development Department will be laying major emphasison women empowerment.


INFORMATIONEXCHANGE

FOR AN EQUAL,GREENWORLDMarch was an action-packed month at thevarious platforms of Department ofInformation and Public Relations.MMaahhaarraasshhttrraa AAhheeaadd lists a few noteworthyinterviews and sections

Environment iseveryone’sbusiness“Environment is an importanttopic that affects everyone. Itsimportance today is realised moredue to challenges like globalwarming, said State EnvironmentMinister Ramdas Kadam, whilespeaking on environmentprotection in a Jai Maharashtraepisode. The Minister wason the show around the festiveoccasion of Holi.”Deterioration of environment

is a manmade phenomenon.The hills have been bared and the

trees have been slaughteredand grounded on a largescale. The Government is going totake strong steps to stop this

menace,” assured Ramdas Kadam. The Government

is also taking steps to reducepollution, as air pollution is

another big challenge, and sortout the issue of waste water. “If Municipal Councils and

Municipal Corporations spend 25per cent of their funds onpollution control and waste watermanagement, thepollution could be controlledto a great extent. It is essential thatwaste water and effluentsfrom companies must comeout of their campuses only afterpurification. A comprehensivepublic awareness campaignhas been undertaken on this.However, its positive results willnot be available in two-threeyears,” he said.

—Atul Pande

MAHANEWS

Click here for jobsWith a view that youth of Maharashtraare guided in right direction, thethen Director General, Informationand Public Relations, ManishaPatankar-Mhaiskar, while launchingMahanews, thought of a lyricalcounterpart of the portal to provideinformation on employmentopportunities. The thought led to thelaunch of Mahaop (currently called,Search a Job). While the sectioncompletes six years, its acceptance iscontinually touching new heights.The youth are always looking for a

flight path when it comes to their career.The world today has something newhappening all the time. Hence, what theyouth needs most is proper guidance.While manyavenues exit,accurateinformationabout thosemust reach thecandidates. Search a Job, on Mahanewsportal, serves this need.The column posts current

vacancies in Central Government, StateGovernment, Public Sector Undertakings,autonomous institutions, universities,railway, banks, Staff Selection Com-mission and other areas. The informationon number of posts, department, levels,eligibility requirements, and lastdate for application are provided in asimple way. The website of the concerneddepartment is also shown in thehyperlink, making the posts one-stopinformation destination for aspirants.The increasing number of visits has madethe column one of the most popularsections of Mahanews.Over the years, Mahanews has

maintained providing accurate information.In the words of Manisha Patankar-Mhaiskar, now Secretary, Information andPublic Relations, Mahanews is a pledge,which has to bemaintained under everycircumstance. The journey has continued.

—Dheeraj Khadse


DILKHULAS

Committed to inclusive development The Government is making an all out effort at all levels for overalldevelopment of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, educationally backwardconstituents of society, including differently abled and senior citizens. Inaddition to remedial measures on a variety of issues, the Government iscommitted to inclusive development of all factions. This was reiterated byMinister of Social Justice and Assistance Rajkumar Badole in Dilkhulas.Informing listeners about new initiatives, he underlined the usage of

technology, such as in depositing the scholarship amount to students’ bankaccounts directly. “There were illegal practices while issuing castecertificate or verifying caste. To make the process transparent, work isslated to be streamlined and computerised. The Department is consideringissuing of a smart card in the name of the head of the family instead of acaste certificate,” he said. Quality of hostels for girls from backward

classes, guidance for competitiveexaminations, employment avenues andfreedom from addiction are on priority. Onaddiction, the Minister said, the mindset ofsociety needs to be changed. “For this, the Government will create old agehome or support home in every district. To provide employmentopportunities to youth, full-time competitive examination guidance centreswill be established at Nagpur and Pune,” he said.Another interesting interview on Dilkhulaswas with entrepreneur

Kalpana Saroj. A rags-to-riches story, Saroj started as a social worker,earning just ̀ 2 a day! An ordinary girl from Akola, she was married into ajoint family at the age of 10-11. The household work and domestic violencethat followed could not take away her determination and desire to learn. ThePadmashree winner shared her inspiring journey with the listeners.

(From top) Minister of Social Justice Rajkumar Badole and Kalpana Saroj on Dilkhulas

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Chandraprabha Boke of Maharashtra wasamongst the proud recipients of StreeShakti Puraskar 2014. The activist received

the Mata Jijabai Award from the President ofIndia, PranabMukherjee at a ceremony held at theRashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi.

An organic agriculturist by profession,Chandraprabha Narendra Bokey has earlier beenhonoured with Krantijyoti Savitribai PhuleAward, Pandita Barabai Shinde Award andPunyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar Award. She hasheld eminent positions across social organisationsin Maharashtra since 1960. The veteran socialworker has relentlessly worked towards therehabilitation of girls and boys both in India andabroad under the adoption scheme as thePresident of Children Welfare Board, Amravati.

For the past 45 years, Chandraprabha Bokeyhas beenworking for the uplift of women in variousfields. Spearheading the initiative focusing onwomen belonging to the below poverty line (BPL)families, she provided them assistance in procuringbank loans and starting small and mediumenterprises while helping them become financiallystable. Women have been made computer literateand trained in organic farming.

As a member of the Maharashtra OrganicFarming Federation (MOFF), Pune, Bokeyundertook awareness and promotion of organicfarming for better health and nutritional status ofchildren and women. Training programmes andtechnology transfer for organic farming wereconducted, especially in the six distressed districtsof Vidarbha where maximum cases of farmersuicides has drawn national as well as inter-national attention. Besides curtailing suicidesamong farmers in the region, MOFF is engaged inmarketing of organic produce of the farmers.

Congratulating the winners of the Stree ShaktiPuraskar, President of India, Pranab Mukherjeesaid, “Wemust make the required effort to removestructural and institutional barriers that inhibitthe economic and social transformation of womenin India. We should remind ourselves that theempowerment of women and their equality, libertyand dignity are not a distant goal or fondaspiration of the women of our country. It is one oftheir sacred rights. It is not a privilege that theyshould seek. It has been a key element in the codeof conduct that our ancient societies prescribed forthemselves more than 3,000 years ago.”

Stree Shakti Puraskar is a series of India’snational honour conferred on individual womenfor their exceptional achievement. The awardgiven in six categories by the Ministry of Womenand Child Development, Government of India,recognises the courage shown by women indifficult circumstances, either in their personalor professional life. It also recognises pioneeringcontribution of an individual in empoweringwomen and raising women’s issues. Instituted inthe year 1991, the award is conferred every yearon International Women’s Day (March 8) andcarries a cash prize of `3 lakh and a citation.

HONOURMATA JIJABAI AWARD

MAKINGADIFFERENCEAcclaimed welfare activist, Chandraprabha Bokey has been honoured with the MataJijabai Award in recognition of her exceptional contribution to society

(From top) ChandraprabhaBokey receiving award fromPresident Pranab Mukherjeeand with Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and fellowwinners of Stree Shakti andNaree Shakti Awards 2014

Bokey led aninitiative focusingon uplift ofwomen from BPLfamilies. Sheprovided themassistance inprocuring loans,startingenterprises andhelping thembecomefinancially stable

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Printed at LAST MILE (Sonigraphics Group Company), 417, Bussa Udyog Bhavan, T.J. Road, Sewri West, Mumbai 400015.Published by Directorate General of Infromation & Public Relations MantralayaMumbai 400 032 on behalf of Government of Maharashtra.Managing Editor CHANDRASHEKHAR OAK, Director General of Information and Public Relations.

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