Jharkhand Journal of Development and Management Studies XISS, Ranchi, Vol. 19, No. 2, April-June 2021, pp. 8771-8784 THE QUEST FOR A SEPARATE VIDARBHA STATEHOOD DURING AND POST COVID-19 PANDEMIC: A REFLECTION
Pradnyasurya Shende1
The demand for a separate Vidarbha State is a long lasting one in India. It is remembered to provide constitutional guarantee to the regional backwardness. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought the question of regional disparity at the forefront. The paper is built largely from the secondary data and literature on the subject domain. It attempts to present the historicity of Vidarbha’s backwardness and explores post Covid-19 pandemic implications for statehood demand of Vidarbha in the forthcoming reverse migration crisis. Key findings suggest that the persisting development backlog has kept the bar of backwardness at a high level in the Vidarbha region and reverse migration caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has also long run adverse implications on the demographic dividend. Therefore, breaking the deadlock of the reverse migration crisis would serve as an initial step towards ensuring justice to the regional development in general and demand for separate Vidarbha State in particular.
Keywords : Separate Vidarbha statehood, Backwardness, Reverse migration, Regional development
Introduction The demand for a separate Vidarbha State is a long-lasting one in India. This article attempts to answer the two questions such as how the reverse migration crisis caused by COVID-19 pandemic can be understood by using the experience of Vidarbha’s backwardness? Will an attempt to break this deadlock serve be the initial step towards ensuring justice to the question of regional disparity in general and demand for separate Vidarbha state in particular? So, the study becomes an important to know the historicity of Vidarbha is backwardness. The COVID-19 is a serious global health crisis of the 21st century. Its first publicly acknowledged outbreak was in December, 2019 due to direct exposure in a seafood wholesale market in Wuhan city of Hubei Province in China (Kannan, Ali, Sheeza & Hemalatha, 2020; Sahoo, Mandal, Mishra & Banerjee, 2020). Soon after it was declared as Public Health Emergency of International Concern during second meeting of
1 Doctoral Research Scholar in Social Work at Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai,India-400088 Email: [email protected], pradnyasurya.shende201 @tiss.edu This paper is based on the review of literature of ongoing Doctoral Research Study titled 'Interrogating Demands for New States in India: Locating the Vidarbha Movement in Contemporary Politics.'
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International Health Regulations (2005) Emergency Committee convened by World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General on 2020, January 30 and global pandemic on 2020, March 11 by WHO (World Health Organization, 2020; Chauhan, 2020). The first case of COVID-19 pandemic in India was reported on 2020, January 30 (Bhagat, Reshmi, Sahoo, Roy & Govil, 2020) in Kerala.
Following this, lockdown in the entire country was announced on 2020, March 24 by the government of India. Initially, it was for a period of 21 days (Bhagat, Reshmi, Sahoo, Roy & Govil, 2020) which was extended till 2020, May 31. The government has classified 130 districts as red zones (Hotspot area), 284 districts as orange zones, and 319 districts as green zones, on 2020, May 1. All 11 regions of Delhi and other metropolitan cities, including Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Kolkata were marked as red zones (Nair, 2020; Sahoo, Mandal, Mishra & Banerjee, 2020). Alongside this, borders were sealed, transportation got stopped, factories, shops, restaurants and all types of economic activities were shut, barring only the essential services to avoid inconvenience for the citizens (Bhagat, Reshmi, Sahoo, Roy & Govil, 2020) and resulted into “mass exodus of migrant workers from destination centres (primarily urban) to the source centres in an attempt to escape the starvation and dwindled access to essential items” (Sikdar & Mishra, 2020, p.3). Eventually, it has proved to be a nightmare for hundreds of thousands of migrant workers. They had lost their livelihoods overnight and became homeless (Bhagat, Reshmi, Sahoo, Roy & Govil, 2020).
The shutting-down of all types of economic activities during COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a labour/employment market deadlock. Now, migrant and informal sector workers are in dilemma whether they will retain previous jobs, how would they sustain their families and take care of children during and post COVID-19 pandemic with and without job, what would be the future of their family and children in post COVID-19 pandemic etc. These anxieties even become grave when India’s quarterly Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth has constantly fallen down since the fourth quarter of Financial Year 2018-19 (The Economic Times, 2019) on one hand and regional development disparity is continuously fueling migration on the other hand.
Review of Literature
The 64th Round of NSS (2007-8) shows that nature of migrant workers is either temporary or seasonal. Statistically speaking, 21 out of every 1000 migrants are classified as temporary or seasonal migrants The Quest for a Separate Vidarbha Statehood During and Post Covid-19 8773
(Government of India, 2008b; Keshri & Bhagat, 2013; Rajan, Sivakumar & Srinivasan, 2020). The regional disparity, lack of job opportunity, or underemployment source centres, as well as chronic poverty, weak education system and skill mismatch, etc; are primary reasons for a high internal migration in India. Furthermore, destination areas do provide them employment opportunities. However, a disproportionate share of these labourers more often than not, reside and moreover, they work as informal workers in dismal conditions. After all, they manage to have none or very small amounts of savings. However, these small savings meant they did not have a ‘buffer’ to deal with the ‘short term uncertainties’ brought on by the pandemic (Sikdar & Mishra, 2020).
The COVID-19 pandemic has “caught countries across the world off guard, resulting in widespread lockdowns that clamped down on mobility, commercial activities and social interactions” (Rajan, Sivakumar & Srinivasan, 2020, p.1) and “brought on by sudden collapse of employment and lack of effective social protection mechanisms” (Sikdar & Mishra, 2020, p.3). Adding to this, COVID-19 pandemic has already crept deeper into the labour market. It has caused widespread disruptions across the globe. It has affected supply chain and demand and caused labour markets to shrink. The disruptions in production have created ripples in the bottom of the chain. It has affected the labour and resulted in deeper shocks and vulnerability. Similarly, all business entities regardless of the volume of business were forced to stop and resulted in job losses in most of the sectors. Even they did not get sufficient time to send their employees proper intimation notice. Most of them even did this via social media platforms. This has acted as labour market shock that has deeply impacted the migrants (Rajan, Sivakumar & Srinivasan, 2020).
The pandemic has triggered a severe ‘crisis of mobility’ in India. The migrant labourers in many major cities were looking for returning to hometowns. Moreover, their desperate attempts to return home by any means available condensed the lockdown ineffective in several areas. Indeed, this could be seen in prompting clashes with authorities, last-minute policy relief and, eventually, the arrangement of transport measures (Rajan, Sivakumar & Srinivasan, 2020). The migrant workers have faced various challenges. Some of those immediate effects are related to food, shelter, loss of wages, fear of getting infected and anxiety. As a result of this, thousands of them have started fleeing from various cities to their native places. Moreover, many migrants have lost their lives either due to hardship on the way, hunger, accident or comorbidity and some even committed suicide (Bhagat, Reshmi, Sahoo, Roy & Govil, 2020) due to various types of helplessness. 8774 Shende
The sudden lockdown also stranded many migrants in different cities of the country. Despite this, some of them have dared to leave for native villages. Prior to this, they didn’t even think much for travel plans. Those who were travelling were stuck up at stations or state or district borders and waited for public or private transport to get them boarded for native villages and get clearance from the administration respectively. Many were forced to walk hundreds of miles on foot (India Today, 2020; Bhagat, Reshmi, Sahoo, Roy & Govil, 2020) alone or with or without family with or without carrying minimum luggage required for the sustenance to reach their home villages finding no public transport.
The migrant labourers, those who managed to reach their native villages, were seen as potential carriers of the infection. Moreover, they were ill-treated by the police and locals and underwent several scrutiny, interrogation and harassments also from neighbors, friends, relatives etc. Adding to this, cases of social boycott, abuses, and assaults were also gone unreported in the country. Similarly, a group of returnees were sprayed with chemicals to disinfect them for which the local administration apologized (India Today, 2020; Bhagat, Reshmi, Sahoo, Roy & Govil, 2020) for their action.
The phenomenon of reverse migration will affect different states differently. For example, local workers may benefit from the reverse migration in the form of better employment opportunities due to the reverse migration in well-off states. On the other hand, poorest states will further suffer as the labour pool will set to bulge in a disproportionate way and this will affect the employment prospects (Dreze, 2020; Rajan, Sivakumar & Srinivasan, 2020). This whole scenario has brought changes in (labour) migration in general and labour/ employment sector in particular in India. It has also a strong connection with regional disparity in general and demand for separate Vidarbha state in particular where migration has remained one of the crucial factors even today. So, it becomes important to know the historicity of Vidarbha’s backwardness.
Marathi speaking area of Central-Berar Province i.e. Vidarbha officially became part of Maharashtra on 1960, May 1 “due to political exigencies then and in good faith that interest of economic well-being of Vidarbha will be protected and hoped that people speaking the same language will form cohesive units for rapid and balanced development” (Pitale, 2009, p.281). Infact, this merger was done after the seventh constitutional amendment i.e. article 371(2) in 1956. The first Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Late Shri Yashwantrao Chavan has tabled the Bombay Reorganization Bill, 1960. He has The Quest for a Separate Vidarbha Statehood During and Post Covid-19 8775 assured the people of Vidarbha while debating the bill that provisions of Article 371(2) would be implemented and if Vidarbha would continue to remain in Maharashtra then it will be given more than its equitable share. Based on this assurance, Vidarbha has continued to remain with Maharashtra even after the formation of Gujarat state (Government of Maharashtra, 2013). But, this assurance was systematically sidelined in the following years by the government of Maharashtra that has affected the development in the Vidarbha region and demand for separate Vidarbha has surfaced during early 80s. It has drawn the attention of the government to take concrete steps before bursting-off people’s feelings. Indeed, the Dandekar Committee was formed to address the backwardness of Vidarbha in 1983.
Following the recommendation of committees in subsequent years, the government had spent Rs. 3155.72 crore between 1984 and 1994, for removal of backlog in three regions of state namely Vidarbha, Marathwada, and Rest of Maharashtra (RoM). But, this expenditure didn’t remove the backlog in backward areas due to lack of implementation strategy in a time-bound manner (Government of India, 2003). This has made way clear for demand for separate Vidarbha state to persist in the following years which was technically muted through article 371(2) of Constitution in 1956. In fact, COVID-19 pandemic has brought twist in the politics over the demand for separate Vidarbha state through the crisis in the employment sector. It has pushed migrant and informal sector workers to get caught between the struggle of getting accommodated in the employment sector on one hand and tug-of-war of state to revive the economy on the other hand during and post COVID-19 pandemic. The migrant and informal sector workers have a significant proportion in the overall workforce of the country and are important drivers in the functioning of the economy. Therefore, ensuring meaningful and sustainable employment during and post COVID-19 is not only a question of migrants and informal sector workers per se but also justice to the regional disparity. Thus, locating the demand for separate Vidarbha state within the reverse migration crisis in the aftermath of COVID-19 pandemic would be the theoretical contribution do justice with the question of regional development disparity in India in general and demand for separate Vidarbha state in post- COVID-19 pandemic in particular.
Objective
The objective of this paper is to explore the implications in the demand for a separate Vidarbha State. 8776 Shende
Research Methodology
Author has adopted both qualitative and quantitative research methods to collect the data using a descriptive research design. This is largely drawn from the secondary data focusing on the backwardness of Vidarbha and long lasting demand for separate Vidarbha state along with the contemporary migration crisis in the light of COVID-19 pandemic. Adding to this, field experiences, observations and some excerpts from in-depth interviews conducted during the data collection of ongoing doctoral research study are also used to support the central argument in the paper.
Findings and Analysis
Development Gap
The poor performance of sectoral growth and development lead to the development gap. The report of the Kelkar Committee published in 2013 has measured the development deficit across regions based on five sectoral outcome indicators. The proportional development deficit of three regions is 39 per cent in Vidarbha, 37 per cent in Marathwada and 24 per cent in RoM respectively (see Table 1). The Vidarbha’s development deficit is 2 per cent higher than its counterpart of Marathwada region. But, variation can be seen in individual indicators of sectoral outcome between the regions.
Table-1. Development Gap (Proportions)
Parameter Weights Vidarbha Marathwada Rest of Maharashtra 1 2 3 4 5 Connectivity 0.02 0.43 0.31 0.26 Education & Skill 0.20 0.36 0.38 0.25 Development Health 0.20 0.41 0.36 0.23 Credit Availability 0.20 0.36 0.37 0.27 Power 0.20 0.38 0.43 0.19 Development Gap 1.00 0.39 0.37 0.24
Source: Government of Maharashtra, 2013, p. 5.
Registration of Udyog Aadhaar Micro, Small, Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)
The proportion of Udyog Aadhaar indicates willingness of a small or medium enterprise to take benefit from all government schemes. The Directorate of Industries, Government of Maharashtra has stated The Quest for a Separate Vidarbha Statehood During and Post Covid-19 8777 that 14.90 lakh MSMEs were registered for Udyog Aadhaar between 2015, October and 2019, December. Among these, 13.10 lakh were micro, 1.73 lakh were small and 0.07 lakh were medium enterprises respectively. While, total investment of MSMEs was 213400 crore and 78.92 lakh employment was generated out of it. At the outset, this share of Vidarbha region for MSMEs registered for Udyog Aadhaar was about 16.2 per cent. Employment share of Vidarbha is 10.4 per cent and investment share is 11.1 per cent (see Table 2). Amaravati division has continued to perform low in MSMEs registered for Udyog Aadhaar, employment and investment as compared to Nagpur division.
Table-2. Region Wise Udyog Aadhaar MSMEs
Region Udyog Aadhaar MSMEs Employment Investment Number Share Share Number Share Amount (per cent) (Lakh) (per cent) (MCrore) (per cent) Mumbai* 3,05,195 20.5 18.73 23.7 37,641 17.6 Konkan (Excl. Mumbai) 3,22,933 21.7 17.53 22.2 43,653 20.5 Nashik 1,31,371 8.8 6.52 8.2 23,255 10.9 Pune 3,36,317 22.6 20.41 25.9 62,575 29.3 Aurangabad 1,52,955 10.2 7.56 9.6 22,604 10.6 Amravati 59,346 4.0 2.28 2.9 6,971 3.3 Nagpur 1,82,085 12.2 5.89 7.5 16,701 7.8 Total 14,90,202 100.0 78.92 100.0 2,13,400 100.0
Source: Economic Survey of Maharashtra-2019-2020, p.135.
Performance of Special Economic Zones (SEZs)
The establishment and distribution of SEZs within the particular region indicate the present path and set future economic development goals for it. The Directorate of Industries, Government of Maharashtra have stated that proposals have been received upto 2019, October in all 251 SEZs. Among these, 30 SEZs were executed in an area of 4231 ha. with total investment of 36352 crore and employment of about 5.94 lakh (see Table 3). At the outset it is important to note that Amaravati division of Vidarbha region did not have even single proposal, so that employment and investment went nil. While, 2 SEZs (6.66 per cent) were executed in an area of 1699 ha. (40.15 per cent) with total investment of 7700 crore (21.18 per cent) and employment of about 0.01 lakh in Nagpur division, which is also for Vidarbha region. Thus, an area on which SEZs are executed in the state is highest in Vidarbha region despite nil performance of Amaravati division and investment and employment were inversely proportional to each other. 8778 Shende
Table-3. Area, Employment and Investment of Executed SEZs
Division Number Area Employment Investment (ha) (Lakh) (MCrore) Konkan 9 421 2.50 9,173 Pune 15 729 2.02 13,612 Nashik 1 1,007 1.25 1,380 Aurangabad 3 375 0.16 4,487 Amravati 0 0 0 0 Nagpur 2 1,699 0.01 7,700 Maharashtra 30 4,231 5.94 36,352
Source: Economic Survey of Maharashtra-2019-2020, p.136.
Contribution of Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) in Employment Generation
The Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) has remained one of the crucial employment sources in the unorganized sector. It is stated that 50788 units were on record as of 2019, December, 2020. The investment and potential employment in these units were 1,94,011 crore and 15.08 lakh respectively (see Table 4). It is important to note that about 72 per cent of 96637 developed plots were allotted to entrepreneurs for the said period in the state. As far as Vidarbha region is concerned, the total number of units in Vidarbha is 6277. It constitutes 12.35 per cent. The total investment across units of Vidarbha was 25706 crores. It constitutes 14.2 per cent of the State’s investment. The employment generated out of the units in Vidarbha was 1.47 lakh. It constitutes 9.7 per cent. Lastly, the total number of developed plots in Vidarbha was 18398. It constitutes 19.03 per cent.
Table-4. Industrial Units in MIDC -as on 31st December, 2019 Division Units Investment Employment Development (no.) (MCrore) (Lakh) (no.) Mumbai 1,012 20,685 1.39 9,131 Konkan (Excl. Mumbai) 13,745 51,129 4.46 13,184 Nashik 8,589 8,131 1.03 9,152 Pune 13,402 76,522 5.91 26,971 Aurangabad 7,763 11,838 0.82 19,801 Amravati 2,524 7,772 0.38 8,893 Nagpur 3,753 17,934 1.09 9,505 Total 50,788 1,94,011 15.08 96,637 Source: Economic Survey of Maharashtra-2019-2020, p.139.
Thus, it is clear from tables 2 to 4 that poor investment in the industrial units and business of the region has remained one major cause behind poor industrial development in the region. If investment would have increased then production would have increased and it The Quest for a Separate Vidarbha Statehood During and Post Covid-19 8779 might lead to employment generation. But, the region has basically failed to attract the investors to invest and hence it has affected the employment generation in the region in the informal sector. This is happening due to unfavorable environment and unviability of raw material needed for industrial development. Moreover, this is also found in case with the employment scenario across staff grades.
Employment Backlog
Employment Backlog is one of the indicators to highlight the magnitude of unemployment. Based on the data of Directorate of Economics & Statistics, Government of Maharashtra for the year 2008 shows that average share of total vacant positions across staff grades in Vidarbha was 25.8 per cent. However, this share was higher in contractual/temporary workers as prescribed by Directorate of Economics & Statistics and second highest as compared to other regions. This also includes Contractual/Temporary Workers (see Table 5).
Table- 5. Region wise Vacant Positions
Region Staff Grade A B C D E* Total 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Rest of Maharashtra 3057 8126 44506 12132 11229 79050 % to total 58.2 62.0 62.5 59.9 48.8 59.5 Marathwada 775 1913 9875 2874 4149 19586 % to total 14.8 14.6 13.9 14.2 18.0 14.7 Vidarbha 1419 3071 16861 5260 7642 34253 % to total 27.0 23.4 23.7 26.0 33.2 25.8 Total 5251 13110 71242 20266 23020 132889
Source: Government of Maharashtra, 2013, p.470
Discussion
In the view of increased backlog, the Report of Fact Finding Team has clearly pointed out that, areas especially Vidarbha were systematically neglected by the government of Maharashtra and more importantly, its resources were diverted and used for the benefit of RoM (Pitale, 2010). While, the remaining backlog as on 2005 March 31, is Rs.8238.94 crore at 1994 prices and would be Rs.14434.64 crore at 2003-04 prices. It is a result of the lack of implementation of the previous directives of the Governor (Government of India, 2006). Adding to this, a report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India (2006-07) has pointed out that the Governor’s Directives were not followed by the Government of Maharashtra and thus due share of 8780 Shende
Vidarbha’s development fund was diverted to Western Maharashtra and north Maharashtra. As a result of this, Vidarbha’s backlog has kept on piling and now has become an irreversible regional imbalance. At the outset of this, it is important to note that 70 per cent of Vidarbha’s development fund was robbed. The provision for irrigation made by the Governor was Rs. 3119.79 crore. But the Government of Maharashtra has allotted only Rs. 1391.58 crore. As a result of this backlog of Rs. 2528 crore was deposited (Pitale, 2010; Aney, 2016). This overall scenario has led to an uninterrupted development backlog and did not draw the attention of the Governor until 2009-10. Based on the Governor’s Directive dated on 2011, May 31, High Level Committee on Balanced Regional Development was formed under the Chairmanship of Dr. Vijay Kelkar (Government of Maharashtra, 2013). This Committee is also known as Kelkar Committee. It submitted its report in 2013.
The above experience shows that provisions of article 371(2) of the Constitution are diluted on various grounds. It clearly indicates ‘dual treatment’ that Vidarbha region has received during different regimes in state government and ensured an abstraction for Vidarbha to get due share in state’s resources and development fund. In the view of this, “non-implementation of Nagpur Pact (1953) by leaders from Western Maharashtra is one of the foremost reasons for absence of development in Vidarbha” (Aney, 2016, p.14).
While, backwardness of the region didn’t ensure that more employment opportunities for the region would come through geographical justice measures. Employment seekers left with only the option of migration. Indeed, migration and regional disparities are strongly connected with each other (Das & Saha, 2013). In connection to this, theory of volume of migration which states an inversely proportional relationship between volume of migration within a given territory and degree of diversity of areas included in that territory (Lee, 1966) and studies like Das and Saha (2013) on Inter-state migration and regional disparities in India have also drawn inferences from this. Nevertheless, economic criteria is the basic motive behind most of the migration (Das & Saha, 2013).
The pattern of inter-state migration and the reasons behind this, altogether, shows that disparities in regional development primarily drive migration (Das & Saha, 2013). Nevertheless, certain urban centres especially administrative capitals within more developed states namely, Delhi, Maharashtra, Gujarat, etc., have become the prime recipient of inter-state migrants from other resource-poor, and undeveloped states. In connection to this, long-distance, across state The Quest for a Separate Vidarbha Statehood During and Post Covid-19 8781 migration, particularly from rural to urban areas cannot be expected to be a choice, instead an escape. Nevertheless, this is the largest stream of migration for inter-state movement (Sikdar & Mishra, 2020). Moreover, studies like, Mukherji (1991) have also supported this. Indeed, it has been argued that, underdevelopment, poverty, spatial disorganization, regional disparities, social inequalities, rural stagnation, rural neglect and unbalanced regional development over national space are still very much linked with the interstate migration of males for employment. Similarly, this is also applicable to females as well (Mukherji, 1991; Sikdar & Mishra, 2020).
The persisting backwardness has paved way to the migration and hence employment or job seekers have migrated to various parts of the state and even country. This given scenario has adverse implications on the demographic dividend of the Vidarbha region. It is in this regard, participant-ABC (name changed)1 said that, “demographic dividend has positive and negative impacts. But, the region had been exposed to negative consequences. For example, the total number of MPs and Vidhansabha MLAs of the region are reduced from 11 to 10 and from 66 to 62 respectively as per the Reorganization of Loksabha and Vidhansabha Constituencies in 2004. It is sad to see that people of the region who used to elect 1 MP and 4 Vidhansabha MLAs had already migrated.”
Nevertheless fear is attached to this because “when India remains full of a young population, then there will be an old age population in the Vidarbha region”, added participant-DEF (name changed).3Indeed, this certainly indicates the development without youths.
Conclusions and Recommendations
It is clear from the above discussion that persisting inadequate allocation of funds for various development sectors and discrepancies in its utilization/expenditure led to the foundation of backwardness in Vidarbha region. Furthermore, development gap, low registration for Udyog Aadhaar MSMEs, poor presence of SEZs, poor performance of MIDC in employment generation, and employment backlog have built dome on this and ensured the migration in the Vidarbha region. The COVID-19 pandemic has made this situation even worse due to the reverse migration crisis. Now, the country in general and the Vidarbha region in particular is witnessing a deadlock in the employment sector that has fundamentally confronted the idea of justice to the regional development in India. The historicity of Vidarbha’s backwardness certainly helps to understand and analyze the interconnectivity between 8782 Shende economic backwardness, migration and reverse migration crisis caused due to COVID-19 pandemic and way forward. Because, this deadlock is neither healthy for the demographic dividend nor employment sector in India. Therefore, breaking this deadlock and addressing the reasons behind the backwardness will be an initial step towards ensuring justice to the question of regional development in general and demand for separate Vidarbha state in particular. Author has the following recommendations to make in this regard:
(i) The government has to encourage and facilitate governance institutions at various levels in exploring employment opportunities within their jurisdiction. Similarly, it has to design a plan for integration and distribution of available state, centre and Public Private Partnership (PPP) sponsored employment generation policies, programmes and services until the economy gets fully recovered and has to monitor this very strictly. (ii) The development backlog suggested for backward or underdeveloped regions across the country by various committees and commissions has become outdated. They have no place in the contemporary discussion and way forward for justice to regional development in India in general and demand for separate Vidarbha State in particular. Therefore, the government has to be notified of the mechanism to study and measure the new development backlog for backward regions across the country in general and Vidarbha in particular at the earliest.
(iii) Based on the advanced estimate of the development backlog, the government has to carry out the backward region development programme with special preference to the employment generation very extensively as guaranteed under the Article 371(2) of Constitution. (iv) The government has to ensure the improvement of ‘ease of doing business mechanism index’ in India in general and backward regions like Vidarbha in particular. It is in this regard, the Government of Maharashtra’s initiatives like ‘Magnetic Maharashtra’ can serve the role of catalyst to attract the investors for investment to sign Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) with government and other business partners and invest in already placed establishments, businesses and industrial units without any hesitation and will also open new establishments preferably in the backward regions like Vidarbha. The Quest for a Separate Vidarbha Statehood During and Post Covid-19 8783
Endnotes
1 He belongs to Chandrapur District of Vidarbha region in Maharashtra and served as Minister of State, Government of Maharashtra. 2 He is Nagpur city based Core Committee Member of Vidarbha Rajya Andolan Samittee (VRAS).
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