(News) Bundelkhand Suffers from Low Industrialisation and Development

Bundelkhand suffers from low industrialisation and development

Since the 2007 assembly elections, when Congress won the Jhansi assembly seat, Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi has been taking a special interest in Bundelkhand.

Rahul’s recent visit to the region to assess the working of women’s self-help group (Rajiv Gandhi Mahila Vikas Pariyojna) formed a year ago is significant in the backdrop of the demand for separate Bundelkhand, as also his success in getting Rs. 7266 crores of Central funds allocated in November for development. Rahul visited Bundelkhand earlier in January 2008 and accused the UP government of not helping farmers and misdirecting Central funds for the construction of statues and museums. He had also chaired a meeting in Jhansi for the formation of a separate Bundelkhand.

Why all this interest? Does Buldekhand have a special identity? Is it a socially and culturally compact area? Presently, half of it is in Uttar Pradesh (Jhansi, Banda, Jalaun, Chitrakoot, Mahoba, Hamirpur and Lalitpur districts), and another half in Madhya Pradesh (Datia, Tikamgarh, Chhatarpur, Panna, Sagar and Damoh districts). This dichotomy has existed since Independence and during the past six decades, the social and political orientations of the two parts have diverged. The only common ground today between the two halves are poverty, backwardness, drought, and lack of industrialisation and development. And so, raising the identity issue to pitch for a separate state is misguided.

What about Bundelkhand’s development? The credibility of political parties has sunk so low that even genuine and serious initiatives may smack of ulterior motives. Rahul might have fine intentions, but one still wonders whether his initiative is about the development of Bundelkhand or about Dalits? Many know Bundelkhand for droughts, dacoits and lack of development, but few know about its Dalit face: its Dalit population (21-30 per cent) is higher than state average.

Bundelkhand has been on UP’s development agenda through the state planning board’s carving UP into four economic regions — western, central, eastern and Bundelkhand. There have been separate budget allocations for Bundelkhand since 1990-91. In 1970, the UP government set up Bundelkhand Divisional Development Corporation (BDDC), which was wound up in 1992 for non-performance. The Mayawati government revived BDDC in April 2008 and also formed Bundelkhand Special Area Development Authority in July that year to counter Rahul Gandhi’s demand for a separate Bundelkhand Development Authority (BDA). Madhya Pradesh also set up a BDA for development of its part of Bundelkhand in May 2007 and allocated a package of Rs.10 crores.

Agriculture is the predominant occupation in Bundelkhand. According to Census 2001, the percentage of workers engaged in agriculture, as cultivators or labourers, was higher than 60, and much higher than state and national averages, in all districts of Bundelkhand except Jhansi, Damoh and Sagar. The share of farmers with marginal holdings i.e less than one hectare is high (70.3 per cent), and productivity is low owing to the soil’s poor water retention, weather fluctuations and large amounts of wasteland. The percentage of net irrigated area to net area sown is low in Bundelkhand region (UP and MP both 50 per cent). There is acute shortage of water and women spend several hours daily to fetch potable water. There are reports of musclemen diverting irrigation water to their fields under shadow of guns. No effort is made to harness rain and flood water by digging ponds and wells. Farmers in Bundelkhand usually prefer to grow wheat (41.97 per cent) as it ensures food security. Mentha (mint) and sugarcane are other preferred crops. Recent attempts by farmers to go for Mentha farming with export potential have further aggravated the groundwater situation.

Though female literacy is high and women constitute higher percentage in workforce in Bundelkhand, they suffer from the structural backwardness of the region. But there are some positive glimmers. In the Banda-Chitrakoot area, an all-women ‘Gulabi-gang’ wearing pink sarees has come up as bulwark against domestic and social violence of all kinds. Recently, an all-woman run local fortnightly newspaper ‘Khabar Lahariya’ in Bundelkhand was given King Sejong Literacy prize by UNESCO.

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Courtesy: indianexpress.com