The recent turmoil in Mumbai and some other towns in Maharashtra has raised the question, Who failed Maharashtrians ?
The great visionary of Maharashtra, Shri Y.B.Chavan, initiated many new developments – he laid the foundation of Navi Mumbai, SICOM, Thane-Belapur Industrial Estate and other industrial estates to promote industry and enterprise among the technocrats o Maharashtra. During his time.Maharashra Times and Loka Satta were started to inform and educate Maarashtrians. All these initiatives were never followed up. Navi Mumbai remained a dormitory town without financial and commercial enterprises. Theidea behind Navi Mumbai was to provide employment and housing in the same area to decongest Mumbai. Similar township around Mumbai would have solved many problems of Mumbai - congestion, long travel, and all the attendent problems. The politicians and builders put up the Nariman Point commercial centre which congested South Mumbai more - more jobs, more commuters, more garbage. If GOM had connected Mumbai with the mainland with a bridge/ tunnel, Navi Mumbai would have become a great new city of Maharashtra. They are planning this now, after three decades.
The politicians who followed Shri Y.B.Chavan had no vision – they promoted sugar industry which guzzles water in a state where there is very little rain ; they devised monopoly procurement for cotton which drained the exchequer but never encouraged diversification which could sustain the farmers. The death and poverty of farmers of Vidabha is a testimony to their lack of vision. The list can go on.
Shiv Sena-BJP government was no better. All that it has done is to build a series fly-overs and Mumbai -Pune Express Highway. It did not give any encouragement to public transport which could have reduced pollution and congestion of all our roads in Mumbai. It did start new schools in Mumbai, only exclusive clubs.
Industry developed in Maharashtra, not because of the GOM, because the Communist trade unions drove them from West Bengal. This was aided by 'freight equalization' policy of the Central government. Of course, the cotton textile industry was killed both by the militant trade unions and government policies.It is difficult to remember any new inititiatve by GOM. The only new idea has come from the farmers - Magarpatta Township, wher farmers have pooled their land and build a township.
Linguistic states were formed to help communication between the people and the representatives of the people, almost 'elected rulers'. This has not helped Marathi literature, drama, natya sangeet and films. They are not in good shape, thanks to lack of patronage/encouragement by the state. The state govrnment has started teaching English to the students of first standrad in the mistaken notion that it will help them go far in life. The result will be - the students would be neither know proper Marathi, nor proper English.
Of course, there is no good governance in Bihar and UP as well. That is why people migrate. While uneducated migrate from UP/Bihar, eduacted migrate from Maharashtra - to West Asia and USA. The migration is a sad commentary on governance - a vote by the feet. The permit-license raj, over-manned public enterprises and corruption have denied good governance to all Indian citizens. 1991 has changed all that. If politicians and bureaucrats become promoters of industry instead of controllers of industry, Indian can flourish and Maharashtra can also flourish. It is not the UP/Bihari taxi drivers who are responsible for lack of jobs and development, it is the politicians without vision both in Maharashtra and UP/Bihar all over the country. We have to blame ourselves for electing people on the basis of caste and creed, not on the basis of vision and policies.
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