Maharashtra assembly to hold dicussion on Kelkar Panel report

Govt to take action only after subcommittee findings

Amidt rising voices against regional imbalance, especially among elected representatives, the BJP-led government will initiate crucial discussions next week in the state legislature on the Vijay Kelkar panel report.

The report, titled ‘Balance Regional Development Issues in Maharashtra’, was tabled in the legislature by the state government in December last year and subsequently a Cabinet committee headed by Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar was set up to examine the panel’s report and make suggestions for implementation. The government has not yet accepted or rejected the report saying it will decide its fate only after Mungantiwar committee submits its findings.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said in the state Assembly the government was prepared to hold a debate on the findings of the Kelkar report. However, the action taken on the report won’t be tabled during the ongoing Budget session. It will be done only after the Cabinet subcommittee makes its recommendations. The Kelkar panel had made a strong case for acceleration in growth of the regions such as Vidarbha and Marathwada to achieve balanced regional development while rest of Maharashtra should at least maintain its growth record. The growth strategy will need to urgently tackle agriculture setback and exploit strengths of Vidarbha with greater resource flows from public and private sector accompanied with the necessary policy governance reforms.

Further, the plan resources should be first divided into general sector and water sector resources in 70:30 ratio. The overall water deficit allocation for Vidarbha should be 35.26 per cent, for Marathwada 21.59 per cent and for rest of Maharashtra 43.15 per cent. In view of low agriculture growth (which is estimated at minus 12 per cent in 2014-15 by Economic Survey), the panel had suggested for the establishment of Regional Watershed Mission for Vidarbha, Marathwada and rest of Maharashtra and implementation of Dry-land Agriculture Development Program in convergence with Watershed Mission for increasing productivity of dry-lands within next 10 years.

This apart, the panel had emphasized the need for a balanced industrial development and recommended a two per cent rebate in sales tax and a one per cent reduction in interest rates on capital borrowed from banks to boost manufacturing activity and private investments in the state, especially in the underdeveloped Vidarbha region. Besides, to promote industries in the backward Marathwada region, the panel had also called for declaring the Parbhani-Hingoli-Washim region a textile zone. A special policy package should be announced for these districts.

The Kelkar panel, which was set up by the Congress-NCP government in 2011, had submitted its report in october 2013 but the previous government did not release it in the run up to the Lok Sabha and state assembly poll. The panel has moved away from the financial and physical backlog approach to the outcome oriented approach to make up the development gap.