Thursday, December 31, 2009

VJAS to join ‘Vidarbha Agitation’ on 3 & 4 Jan'10.

VJAS to join ‘Vidarbha Agitation’ on 3 & 4 Jan'10.

Fresh initiative on Vidarbha statehood -VJAS to join ‘Vidarbha agitation’ on 3 & 4 Jan'10.

NAGPUR: 1ST January .2010

The Union home minister P Chidambaram announcement that the UPA government ha shown seriousness on Telangana statehood and is trying to work out a mechanism in the January 5 all-party meeting has once again forced cong. Leaders start fresh initiative On Sunday, party leaders led by city congress MP Vilas Muttemwar(09422125000) will sit on a ‘Dharna’ in front of the Gandhi statue at Variety Square in a peaceful agitation to demand that Vidarbha statehood demand should be considered along with Telangana,as the demand for Vidarbha is much older and stronger than that of Telangana and in the Fazal ali Commission had classified Vidarbha as “viable, stable and suplus,’when rejecting proposals for Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand,” said an appeal signed by Nagpur (south) MLA Dinanath Padole, former mayors Vikas Thakre, Naresh Gawande and Kishore Dorle and Bijju Pande. They have appealed to all pro-Vidarbha activists to join the peaceful agitation on Sunday’

VJAS the pro-vidarbha statehood group has decided to join the agitation on 3rd Jan. in Nagpur . VJAS leader Kishore Tiwari today spoken to congress MP Vilas Muttemwar and extended the support to his very sincere efforts to give justice the dying people of vidarbha.

UPA Chief should look at the apathy shown in last 50 years, people of Vidarbha waited in vain to see development of the region remaining in Maharashtra. But this never happened and the region remains most under-developed in the country.

History of unjust with vidarbha as reported by congress MP Vilas Muttemwar in letter to smt.sonia Gandhi last week and

I UNQUOTE

"In 1888, the British administration recommended formation of Vidarbha state to then commissionerate. In 1918, the constitutional review committee, the Dar committee and JVP panel had agreed to grant it statehood. In 1955, the States Reorganisation Commission (SRC) comprising Justice Fazal Ali and Pandit Karzuru had unanimously recommended carving out Vidarbha state as it would be viable, stable and surplus," Muttemwar wrote.

He added that in 1988, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had realised the injustice meted out to the region had appointed now NCP leader PA Sangma to ascertain the feasibility of restoring statehood and, interestingly, he had also recommended its separation.

In 1996, a delegation of senior Congress leaders including working committee members and AICC general secretaries like Ahmed Patel, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Meira Kumar, K Karunakaran, Rajesh Pilot, Balram Jakhar, Mukul Wasnik, Vasant Sathe, NKP Salve, Sudhakarrao Naik and several prominent leaders from Vidarbha, besides Muttemwar had met with then PM HD Deve Gowda and submitted a representation for restoration of Vidarbha's statehood as recommended by SRC.

Unquote

VJAS recalled Vidarbha’s frequent support to Congress that the party has been coming to power in Maharashtra since 1960. ‘We are totally convinced with the view of congress MP Vilas Muttemwar who said that the time has come for a separate state if not.,then the next generation and history will not forgive you if you fail to meet the aspirations and developmental dream of the people who see the separate state as the only solution now.even Father of Constitution Dr B R Ambedkar supported the idea of Vidarbha state as demand for separate Vidarbha was older than Telangana and a number of senior leaders, MPs, legislators and grass-root level workers belonging to this region had advocated restoration of statehood,as Vidarbha was not able to develop economically despite being part of a progressive state like Maharashtra. This was evident from the fact that over 7,000 farmers committed suicides due to lack of irrigation facilities.Further, five districts were facing problems of Naxal-infestation, besides numerous other problems like unemployment, load-shedding and lack of industries. The people are not separatists or destructive minded. However, if it is neglected further, the people could go to any possible extent to fight for their rights, it is fact ”,"Tiwari added.

VJAS is also attending the meeting called ex-MP and veteran dalit leader and grand son of Father of Constitution Dr B R Ambedkar , Balasaheb Ambedkar on 4th Jan. in Nagpur,Tiwari informed.

Monday, December 28, 2009

Vote for Adv.Vinod Tiwari(Ballot sr.no.131) -Member -Bar Council of Maharashtra & Goa

Request to

All member of

Bar Council of Maharashtra & Goa

Bar council Election -Please Elect Adv.Vinod Tiwari(Ballot sr.no.131)

Regards,


Kishore Tiwari





Saturday, December 26, 2009

VJAS urged BJP to oppose Maharashtra Govt. “Grain liquor” Policy


VJAS urged BJP to oppose Maharashtra Govt. “Grain liquor” Policy

Nagpur- 26th December 2009.

After BJP National president Nitin Gadkari has announced that now BJP will have drastic change in it’s operational outlook and will work on principle of 'Pro-development policies, not ideology to guide BJP', it’s National general secretary Gopinath Munde has already started it’s follow-up when he open supported government's decision allowing farmers to make alcohol out of food grains like maize, jowar and bajra .

Munde has come out to support the Ashok Chavan government decision to allow use of grains like maize, jowar and bajra for the production of liquor after the Bombay High Court sought government’s reply on a PIL demanding that process of giving subsidies to grain-liquor manufacturing units be stayed v.i.z. include , Gopinath Munde''s daughter Pankaja ,Union minister Vilasrao Deshmukh''s son Amit Deshmukh, NCP leaders Govindrao Adik and Vimal Mundada and others

The decision has sparked furore in the state, as it is being perceived as an encouragement to alcohol consumption as the decision is being openly opposed by Hon,Ble Justice Chandrasekhar Dharmadhikari ,Anna Hajare, Mehesh Elkunchwar and other . The opposition parties too had expressed their fears that the move will lead to shortage of food grains.

‘as per economic survey of Maharashtra Govt. for year 2008-09 ,there is drop of more than 25% food production in the state that is before the drought year and this year the food production is likely to drop by 50% hence the recent decision of the state government on clearing 23 proposals to make liquor from food grains is very unfortunate ,we expect BJP party should not defend such decision which are against the poors and effecting food security of the state’ Kishor Tiwari Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti said in press note today.

Earlier Government now BJP National leader is defending the alcohol-from-foodgrains decision by arguing that only degraded, blackened jowar and bajra, damaged by bad weather and untimely rains — which otherwise goes waste or is used as cattlefeed — would be used for making liquor but all over world good quality grains too could be diverted for alcohol making resulting inflation in food prices . VJAS urged national BJP to take clear stand on the issue as it has created the doubts on it’s new 'Pro-development policies compromising the basic ideology of party, Tiwari added.

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Friday, December 25, 2009

Scientists, private companies exploit a Vidarbha Farmer, deny him his due-HINDU




Date:24/12/2009 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/seta/2009/12/24/stories/2009122450111400.htm
Back Sci Tech



FARMER'S NOTEBOOK

Scientists, private companies exploit a farmer, deny him his due

M.J. PRABU

Vidharbha farmers cultivate HMT paddy variety as it gets a good price

— Photo: Special Arrangement

Iron will: A shaken, but determined, Dadaji in his paddy fields in Maharashtra.

THE FAMOUS quote of Archimedes, “Give me a place to stand... I will move the world,” could well be a statement made by a small farmer Mr. Dadaji Ramaji Khobragade in Maharashtra who developed a highly successful paddy (HMT) variety.

Some agricultural scientists and commercial seed companies cheated the farmer from commercialising his finding and exploited the variety.

What a irony

The irony is that these seed companies made lakhs’ of rupees as profit without recognising the poor farmer who even today toils in his 3.5 acres for a livelihood.

Most of the farmers in the Vidharbha region, noted for its farmers’ suicides, now cultivate this paddy variety as it fetches them a better price.

The HMT variety yields 4 to 4.5 tonnes from an acre, with short grains, more than 80 per cent rice recovery, better aroma and cooking quality. The most remarkable feature of the variety is its grain thinness.

Five years of labour

Mr. Dadaji selected and bred the HMT rice variety from the conventional ‘Patel 3’, variety. He succeeded after five years of continuous study and research.

“In 1983 I noticed three yellow seeded paddy spikes commonly called as ‘lomb’ in my fields, planted with the Patel 3 variety.

“I stored them in a plastic bag and sowed them separately during the next season in the middle of the field. I harvested nearly 10kgs of husked rice. On cooking the rice, I found them to be tastier than the Patel variety.”

Small start

He sowed four kg of seeds in a small area and produced 400 to 450 kg of rice. The next year 100 to 150 kg of paddy seeds were sown from which he obtained about 50 bags of paddy and sold them to several farmers.

“I contacted the paddy research centre regarding this variety, but they refused to recognize my research, as it was not based on scientific research techniques.

“The Sindewahi Rice Station, a part of Punjabrao Krishi Vidyapith approached me and took five kilograms of seeds under the pretext of experimenting.

“I was horrified to learn one day that they had released a new variety named PKV HMT. When I contacted them for an explanation they told me that my variety being ‘impure’ needed purification and they released it with a new name,” he says.

But the farmer emphasises that there is no big difference between his variety and those released by the rice station.

A recent research published by some experts established the truth that there is no difference between PKV-HMT and HMT. Both are one and the same.

Planned usurption

“The benefits of my research were usurped by private seed companies who made money allegedly with the help of some scientists working in an agricultural university,” he says with bitterness. He regrets that the local agricultural university took the credit merely for purifying the seeds and denied him the due recognition.

Several seed companies based in Nagpur and Chandrapur minted money from his HMT seed but never considered sharing even a small portion of their profit with him.

Seven more varieties

Mr. Dadaji bred seven more varieties of paddy in the last twenty years. All the varieties yield about 1.5 to 2 tonnes per acre.

His HMT variety is now being marketed in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

But the pain on his face is visible, when he remarks:

“The thatched roofs of all the private company people have transformed into tiled roofs, but who is there to help poor farmers like me?”

Readers can contact Mr. Dadaji Ramaji Khobragade at At. & Po., Nanded Village, Teh.- Nagbhid, Chandrapur 441221, Maharashtra, phone: 07179-253093, 07179-202636.

© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu


Thursday, December 24, 2009

Pro-Vidarbha group terms Rs.10,000 crore package 'eyewash'-IANS

Pro-Vidarbha group terms Rs.10,000 crore package 'eyewash'-IANS

Mumbai, Dec 24

Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (VJAS), which is lobbying for a separate state of Vidarbha to be carved out of Maharashtra, Thursday dismissed the government's Rs.10,000 crore economic package for the region as "an eyewash".

Chief Minister Ashok Chavan Wednesday had announced the Vidarbha Package aimed at the economic revival of the backward and Maoist-hit eastern Maharashtra to be implemented by 2011.

An amount of Rs.3,094 crore would be spent on completing 20 pending irrigation and water conservation projects and 21 minor projects of a similar kind. This includes projects in Lower Vena (Nagpur district), Purna and Chandrabhaga (Amravati), Utawali (Buldhana), Khadakpurna (Buldana) and Gosikhurd (Bhandara), Chavan announced.

"By fully executing these major projects, we shall bring an additional 57,577 hectares of land under cultivation by June 2010," Chavan said.

Besides these, the government would invest Rs.1,386 crore on the various measures aimed at combating Maoist violence in the region including construction of five four-lane roads - involving an additional length of 222 km - within two years, Chavan said.

VJAS president Kishor Tiwari in a statement Thursday said: "A careful analysis shows that there is nothing new in the so-called Rs.10,000 crore package, but merely a rejig of the existing schemes that are already under implementation in the region."

Tiwari said that there is nothing for the families of nearly 7,300 farmers who committed suicide in the past six years, or specific measures to tackle the spectre of drought looming over the already existing agrarian crises in the region.

Other measures Chavan listed are setting up of a ready-made clothes manufacturing estate comprising 600 units, revival of 100 defunct ginning mills,construction of hostels with 1,374 rooms, computer education facilities in 287 upper middle schools, a 100-bed hospitals at Chandrapur and Washim.

Besides these, the government plans to expedite construction of Babasaheb Ambedkar social justice centres in 11 places, constructing 25 new schools for tribals, Rs.27 crore for a MHADA housing complex in Chandrapur, Rs.25.90 crore for fire brigade facilities and setting aside its share of financial allocation for development of 16 cities under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).

President of Vidarbha Farm Widows Association (VFWA) Bebitai Bais, expressing "disappointment" over the package, said that it was expected that thegovernment would do something for 7,300 widows who are deprived of food and health care, and their children not having resources for education or marriage.

"The hopes of three million distressed farmers in the region, reeling under a drought have been shattered," said Bais in a statement.


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Friday, December 18, 2009

As old as Telangana demand, so why not a separate Vidarbha-The Times of India

As old as Telangana demand, so why not a separate Vidarbha

TNN 18 December 2009,

NEW DELHI: With Telangana being the flavour of Lok Sabha this week, veteran Congress MP Dutta Meghe added another colour to proceedings by raising the demand for Vidarbha statehood.

The could hardly be heard in the din, but he stood up and did his bit and later said that some leaders like Raj Thackeray had spoken of a referendum and the proposal should be accepted. "I am sure 80% of the people will vote for statehood," he told TOI outside the House.

The lone MP could hardly make himself heard above the noise being drummed up by TDP and Congress MPs as well as those from Samajwadi Party and RJD who were protesting the tabling of a standing committee report on women's reservations. But he confirmed he had stood up for the Vidarbha demand.

"If the Telangana demand has been considered by our high command, the statehood plea for Vidarbha is also pending. It is a much easier claim to settle even though it is as old as the demand for statehood for Telangana. There have been agitations just as there have been for Telangana," Meghe said.

The MP pointed out that there were no contentious points like Hyderabad to be settled in the case of Vidarbha as Nagpur was the "natural" capital on which Maharashtra should not have any claims. There was a tradition of the orange city hosting the winter session and also had an Assembly building. "People should know that Vidarbha was part of central provinces and Berar, the amalgamation into Maharashtra was a result of the political situation at the time of Independence," the MP said.

Meghe joins Nagpur MP Vilas Muttemwar who has already written on the issue of statehood for Vidarbha to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Muttemwar has said it was his duty to convey the sentiments of the people to the PM and had done so. He pointed out that the challenge held out by leaders like Raj Thackeray would be fully answered by the people of the region. This was clear in the manner in which the people had rallied to the statehood cry.
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Creation of VIdarbha-Time to restructure India-Prakash Nanda

Time to restructure India
By Prakash nanda
http://www.upiasia.com/Politics/2009/12/17/time_to_restructure_india/8270/
New Delhi, India — When the British left India in 1947, they left two bits of unfinished business. First, they split the country and created Pakistan, which was subsequently split into present-day Bangladesh. The process of partitioning the region can be considered unfinished, with India and Pakistan still fighting over control of the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

The second unfinished task is that of structuring the government. The country has a quasi-federal structure with power distributed between the central and various state governments. This system has not been completely satisfactory, as many states have demanded more powers from the central government. Conflicts in the state of Punjab in the 1980s and 1990s and the continuing problems in many northeastern states bordering China and Myanmar reflect this.

However, a corollary to the above has made headlines in India in recent days. The Parliament has not being allowed to function in a normal fashion due to agitation by certain members, and life in the important southern state of Andhra Pradesh has come to a halt. The reason is that people within a certain region of the state are demanding that the state be divided and they be given their own new state called “Telangana.”

Presently, India has 28 states and seven union territories. Independent India in 1947 had 16 states and some 10 union territories. But the number of states has increased over time due to the splitting of some big states and the conversion of some union territories into states. The last time cartographers were sent scurrying to redraw India's boundaries was in 2000, when three new states were added – Uttaranchal from the state of Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand from the state of Bihar and Chhattisgarh from the state of Madhya Pradesh.

Some newly created states such as Andhra Pradesh, part of the original Madras state; Haryana, part of the original Punjab state; and Maharashtra and Gujarat, originally of the undivided Bombay province, are the creations of protests and hunger strikes by important national leaders.

But many of the new states were formed on the basis of recommendations by the States Reorganization Commission set up in 1955. Formed in the wake of agitation for the creation of a Telugu language-speaking Andhra Pradesh by breaking up Madras province – where Tamil was the other major language – the commission devised in 1956 the highly dubious criterion of linguistic commonality as the basis for new states.

Obviously, that formula is not working now, even in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Ironically, the protagonists of Telangana – one of whose leader’s declaration of a fast-to-death last week unnerved the central government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh enough that it announced its willingness to create a new state – are, like their counterparts in the rest of the state, all Telugu-speaking.

Naturally, the rest of Andhra Pradesh is angry. Its leaders, including those from the ruling Congress Party, are now equally determined to stall any division of the state. The result is chaos everywhere, both in state and central governments.

In fact, this is not all. The Telangana agitation has revived similar demands elsewhere. Last week Mayawati, chief minister of the Hindi-speaking Uttar Pradesh state, India’s most important state politically with 80 members of Parliament, said that she would favor the creation of three more new states – Harit Pradesh, Bundelkhand and Poorvanchal – out of the present state.

Similarly, in the state of Marathi-speaking Maharashtra, agitators for a new state of Vidarbha have got a fresh lease of life thanks to the Telangana demand.

If anything, all these demands have nullified the basic rationale for the creation of new states as given by the SRC in 1956 – linguistic uniformity. Now we have the same language-speaking people fighting for separate statehood.

This in turn raises the question as to what should have been or what should be the rational criteria for statehood in India. Many experts believe that more than language or ethic affinity, “better governance” should be the key. India needs more decentralization of power for the public good. That would be possible if it had around 50 smaller states with populations of less than 50 million – 25 million being a more favored number – and geographical expanses of less than 35,000 square kilometers.

It is being pointed out that India’s relatively smaller states, such as Kerala, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Goa and Sikkim, have made all-round progress thanks to their smaller size.

On the other hand, larger states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra have not risen to their potential. In fact, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, India’s largest states, are also its poorest.

These states are tottering on the law-and-order front as well. Their records of governance are dismal and human development is poor. It is in these states that farmers are committing suicide. The only asset these states have is their huge electoral clout.

But there is also a counterview. In a diverse and pluralistic country like India, too much decentralization is not seen as a good thing. In fact, India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was not in favor of small states, as he believed they could accentuate the divisiveness in the country. Some of the small states being demanded may not even have enough resources to stand on their own.

Viewed thus, it is time for another commission to evolve more acceptable criteria for statehood. Let India have 50 or more states, but they should be restructured taking into account a range of criteria such as administrative issues, socio-economic factors, language, ethnicity and geography.

In fact, there would be merit in converting metropolitan cities such as New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata into union territories or partial states, delinking them from narrow parochial forces.

But such an exercise would have to be extremely cautious, rising above petty political gains and vested interests, if it were to bond the republic rather than create additional fissures.

--

(Prakash Nanda is a journalist and editorial consultant for Indian Defense Review. He is also the author of “Rediscovering Asia: Evolution of India’s Look-East Policy.” He may be contacted at Prakash.nanda@hotmail.com. ©Copyright Prakash Nanda.)

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Vidarbha - Mutually Beneficial to both Vidarbha and Maharashtra- Dr R L Pitale

Vidarbha Rajya

Mutually Beneficial to both Vidarbha and Maharashtra

Multi-faced Rapid Economic Development

At A Glance

Dr R L Pitale*

The Vidarbha region since it became part of Maharashtra in 1960 has suffered economically resulting in unabated suicides of farmers and increasing unemployment of youths during the last 40 years. The region has been systematically neglected by the Maha Govt.. There is lack of Political Will on the part of Maharashtra Government to develop Vidarbha which is amply and exhaustively documented by The Planning Commission’s Fact Finding Committee’s 244 pages Report (2006) and CAG Report (2006-07). Hence unless Vidarbha has the Right of Self determination i.e. unless it becomes a Separate State, it can not make rapid economic progress and avoid exploitation.

The economic, financial and administrative benefits of Separate State are briefly stated below without jeopardizing the economic interest of rest of Maharashtra which are also given in a separate statement.

  1. Economic and Financial Benefits

1. Separate Vidarbha will be surplus in electricity. There will be no load shading and all villages and towns will have uninterrupted supply of electricity year round.

2. This will connect all pump-sets to irrigate the farms of the farmers. Existing irrigation potential will be fully used.

3. All irrigation projects which are languishing in Maharashtra regime will be completed on priority. Out of the total cultivable area of 55 lakh hectares, only 10 lakh hectares is under Rabi Crops. Once irrigation becomes available the Rabi activity will increase and give more employment to farmers and farm labour of Vidarbha. There will be No suicides of farmers in Vidarbha.

4. Agro-processing industries and horticulture will be developed that will further boost the farm economy.

5. Electricity using small, medium and large industries will be set up with more incentives to industrialists with backward area concessions.

6. For MIHAN project that needs the feed of passengers and cargo, a Master Plan for the same will be designed and put into operation in the next two years. This will generate technical and ancillary employment.

7. The much neglected Tourism Sector will get a special attention and investment allocation. Vidarbha has number of tourists destinations which Maharashtra Government did not care to develop.

8. Vidarbha can resort to low cost organic farming suiting its dry land area, give remunerative prices to farmers and arrange for their export to European Union countries who have abandoned GM Crops. There is huge market for organic food including organic cotton. Maharashtra government even did not think on these lines.

9. Forest based and mineral based activities will be given boost for generating more revenue.

10. More thermal electricity generation to sale it to other States to generate more income/revenue.

11. Vidarbha will establish balance between revenue and expenditure for multi-faced development. Vidarbha’s estimated Budget 2009-10 is of the order of about Rs.24,000 cro with its revenue and expenditure balanced. Haryana and Punjab which are comparable in area and population to Vidarbha, have budget of Rs.28000 and Rs.30,000 cro. respectively. Harayana and Punjab do not have Mumbai and still they have progressed faster than Maharashtra. Hence, Vidarbha State has the potential of developing fast once it is detached from Maharashtra.

  1. Administrative and Organizational Benefits

  1. With Nagpur as the capital of Vidarbha, the seat of decision making will be easily accessible for the common people. In a short period of one to three hours people can contact the administration personally.
  2. Ministers and peoples representatives will also be able to intensify their supervision and monitoring of development projects quickly. Administration will be more people oriented.
  3. Ministers and MLAs will not be able to shirk their responsibilities by pointing that Mumbai Sarkar is not listening to them. They will be more responsible.
  4. Number of public sectors are less in Vidarbha. The size of the government will be kept to the minimum and more private participation will be encouraged which will increase administrative and organizational efficiency.
  5. Right of self determination will make all the difference in fully utilizing resources and Vidarbha’s resources will not be exploited by others as is happening now.

Vidarbha State

Advantage Maharashtra

Separate Vidarbha State is going to be advantageous economically, financially and administratively to Maharashtra also. The major advantages are:

  1. Economic and Financial Advantages

  1. With separate Vidarbha, entire revenue of Mumbai will be of Maharashtra. Benefit to Maharashtra.
  2. No Winter Assembly session in Nagpur, hence saving of about Rs150 cro.
  3. There can be one Governor for Maharashtra and Vidarbha State. Vidarbha will share half the expenditure of Raj Bhavan. Economic benefit to Maharashtra in lakhs of rupees.
  4. Current expenditure on Naxal affected Chandrapur and Gachiroli will be net saving in expenditure to Maharashtra.
  5. Indivisible Expenditure on administration, law and order, education and welfare schemes etc of Vidarbha will not be required to be done. Saving for Maharashtra.
  6. With the economic development of Vidarbha, flow of unemployed of Vidarbha to Mumbai will reduce. Advantage Maharashtra.
  7. Reverse flow of population to Vidarbha from rest of Maharashtra once the Vidarbha becomes rich as it was earlier. Advantage Maharashtra.
  8. Expenditure on Public sector units/ organizations of Vidarbha will not be required. Financial benefit to Maharashtra.
  9. Mumbai has space problem. Vidarbha can lease land on reasonable rate to Maharashtra. Advantage Maharashtra.
  10. Maharashtra is deficit in electricity. Vidarbha makes available surplus electricity to Maharashtra at reasonable rate compared to rates charged by private companies. There will, of course, be no free electricity from Vidarbha.
  11. Vidarbha Development Board will not be required which saves expenditure of few crores to Maharashtra.
  12. All Plan and Non-Plan expenditure of Vidarbha will not be there which is net saving to Maharashtra.
  13. On rough estimates of Budget 2009-10, Vidarbha being a State, Maharashtra will have to incur expenditure on purchase of about 2500/3000 MW electricity costing about Rs 4500 cro.and there will be loss of revenue which roughly adds to Rs.18,952 cro. But this will be financed by reduction in expenditure on Vidarbha to the tune of about Rs.22601 cro which will over compensate Maharashtra government leaving a surplus of Rs.2626 cro.. Size of Maharashtra Budget will be manageable with the exclusion of Vidarbha. This is net gain to Maharashtra once Vidarbha becomes a State. This is a matter of detailed calculations which can be undertaken in a separate Meeting. Earlier some leaders from Vidarbha had spread mis-information that Vidarbha will not be economically viable. If Maharashtra with its public debt of Rs 1 lakh and 86 thousands cro. can be viable then Vidarbha will also be Viable. No state has been created on the basis of economic viability but on the basis of economic development with right of self determination for realizing the economic benefits denied to the people of the region.

  1. Administrative and Organizational Gains

  1. Once Vidarbha becomes separate State, long distance administrative supervision will not be required. That will save lot of botheration.
  2. With separate Vidarbha State, Maharashtra’s geographical management will be

more efficient.

  1. Maharashtra will be absolved of its responsibility of economic development of

Vidarbha for which it has no Political Will as pointed out by the Planning

Commission’s Fact Finding Committee’s 244 pages Report 2006 and CAG

Report of 2006-07.

  1. Vidarbha being not part of Maharashtra, Maharashtra government will not be

required to engage in the exercise of diverting funds from Vidarbha to Western

Maharashtra. All funds will be of Maharashtra. There will be no need for

Maharashtra to take away projects from Vidarbha.

  1. Problem of backlog will not be there. Benefit to Maharashtra.
  2. No Article 371(2), no Directives from Governor, Maharashtra will have all administrative and financial freedom to chart out its course of development.
  3. With less MLAs and MLCs in Maharashtra State with exclusion of Vidarbha, more space for Maharashtra MLAs and MLCs in Aamdar Niwas. More Bunglows and space for Maharashtra Ministers. Advantage Maharashtra.
  4. Down sizing of Bureaucracy in Maharashtra as part of government servants will be transferred to Vidarbha State. Benefit Maharashtra.

Mutually Agreed creation of Separate State of Vidarbha will generate more goodwill and respect of each other. Let us separate peacefully and amicably. Demand for Vidarbha State is pending with the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. The earlier it is granted, better it is. Central Government need not wait for Maharashtra Assembly to bring the Resolution of Vidarbha State and pass it but can start the process of creating the State on its own. Separate Vidarbha will add to India’s GDP growth.

*Economic Adviser (Retd), Government of India. M 09890279155

Sunday, December 13, 2009

22 more vidarbha farmers suicides reported in December : “separate vidarbha” is only solution to stop farmers’ suicides-VJAS

ब्रेकिंग न्यूज़

Two more vidarbha farmers suicides today taking toll 22 in December : “separate vidarbha” is only solution to stop farmers’ suicides-VJAS


Nagpur-14th DECEMBER 2009


Today 14th December was bad day for village panjari and umarii-ijara in Yavatmal district of vidarbha when sunil turi of panjari and amru rathode of umri-ijara consumed pesticide to kill themseleves due severe crop failure taking toll 22 in this month and 926 in the year 2009 ,these are victims of going agrarian crisis in vidarbha .

Dead bodies of amru rathode is lying at rural hospital darwaha and sunil tuli is awaiting the last rites in village panjari,Kishore tiwari of Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti (VJAS), informed today.

"I have requested collector yavatmal sanjay deshmukh arrange the postmortum of amru rathode as nobody was attending him in the hospital" tiwari added.both farmers have huge debt and complete cotton crop failure this year,tiwari said


EARLIER REPORT

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When Maharashtra revenue Minister Narayan Rane was advocating the cause of vidarbha agrarian crisis and farmers suicides ,20 more farmers killed themselves in first 12 days of December in which none of farmer was drunkard as two victims are women and all others are debt trapped farmers under deep distress due to severe crop failure as per police report available, making the claim of Rane ‘ridiculous” , Kishore Tiwari of vidarbha Janandolan Samiti informed today.

15 farmers are from western vidarbha and remaining 5 farmers are from eastern part of vidarbha and most effected suicide prone district Ammaravati,Yavatmal and Akola reported five ,four and three farmers suicides respectively more over two women farmers are the victims included in these 20 farmers ,Tiwari added.

Here is the list of 20 farmers who have committed suicides in December -2009 till 12th of the month.

Sr.No.

Name

Village

Distrcit

1

Pushpa Narule

Wandali

Yavatmal

2

Ramds Farkale

Akoli(Jahangir)

Akola

3

Nitin Jawanjal

Sawara

Akola

4

Ramchandra Tadse

Wadkhed

Yavatmal

5

Suresh Gaikwad

Mohran

Bhandara

6

Dhyaneshwar Raut

Malapur

Nagpur

7

Namdeo Lande

Sangora

Chandrapur

8

Suresh Batale

Kotha

Yavatmal

9

Madan Taywade

Wakholi

Amaravati

10

Ankush Nirkute

Rehki

Wardha

11

Ramesh Shende

Pawani

Bhandara

12

Dhyandeo Buthawat

Somgoan

Buldhana

13

Santosh Patangrai

Anadwadi

Amaravati

14

Vijayshekar Bopache

Rengepar

Gondia

15

Santosh Badale

Chikkhalgaon

Yavatmal

16

Ramdas Meshram

Dhotra

Amaravati

17

Madhukar Tekade

Wikodi

Akola

18

Ankush Jadhav

Redawa

Akola

19

Ramrao Charjan

Sonuri

Amaravati

20

Umesh Manohare

Sawarkhed

Amaravati

“separate vidarbha” is only solution to stop farmers’ suicides-VJAS

VJAS alleged that continuous Govt. apathy toward the long pending backlog and neglect of region is result of mass genocide of farmers ,there is no facility of farward integration any agro. Produce being cultivated in the region and state investment in this area is almost nil even after intervention of Governor under his constitutional right of section 371 hence separate statehood is only solution to stop farmers suicide of vidarbha

Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti (VJAS),farmers advocacy group urged centre that as all relief packages have failed to any typr of relief ,now they should give autonomy to the region by granting separate statehhod the ‘VIDARBHA’ , Kishore tiwari of Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti (VJAS), informed today.

Please arrange to release this press note

Thanking you,

Yours Faith Fully

Kishor tiwari

President

Vidarbha jan andolan samiti

kishortiwari@gmail.com

vidarbhacrisis.blogspot.com

contact-09422108846