Politics of Regional Development: A Case Study of Maharashtra

Maharashtra is one of the largest states of India in terms of area and population. With a significant economic, financial, social and political presence, it is also one of the richest state. It attracts not only industries and investors, but also a large number of labourers from all over the country. The present work was taken up as a study of political economy of regional development of Maharashtra with special reference to Vidarbha, its constituent region. The book examines the underdevelopment of the Vidarbha region in comparison with other regions of the state of Maharashtra. The region lacks extension of the development process and is suffering from stagnant social progress. The dynamics of the development has been channelized in such a way that the regional inequalities have grown in the past decades. All this has ultimately resulted into despair, loss of self-confidence and disappointment about the whole composite process of development, on the part of the people. There has been a growing consciousness for separate State due to historical reasons and neglect of its development. The economic regional disparities are widening and so are all other forms of disparities, resulting into a sort of disaffection or alienation. The poverty, malnutrition, undernutrition, unemployment, farmers suicides etc. are not purely economic problems and need to be dealt with a comprehensive public policy at the level of the State. This calls for a radical solution. This book contains political economy rather than merely an economic approach to the regional development and regional disparities in Maharashtra. It is well-supported through statistics and official reports. This treatise on the political economy of underdevelopment and regional disparities will generate evidence-based discussion among the policy makers and those who are involved in the political decision-making.