Thirteen districts of north Karnataka recently raised a fresh cry for a separate State as the recent state budget was largely in favour of southern states.
Notably, north Karnataka is underdeveloped by a big degree in comparison to the southern districts.
What is the state of divide within Karnataka?
North Karnataka region (Bombay-Karnataka) is considerably backward due to the historic neglect in the pre-independence era.
Further, apathy for the north after unification of Karnataka is said to have exacerbated this regional divide.
This is divide is exemplified in the contrast between the ways in which projects on the rivers Cauvery and Krishna are handled.
People of north Karnataka have always argued that Krishna River never gets the attention that the Cauvery in south Karnataka does.
In recent times, the delay in solving the long-pending inter-State Mahadayi river row has been cited as another pointer to the apathy towards north.
What have been some government initiatives?
The Constitution was amended to give special status to the Hyderabad Karnataka region under Article 371(J), to facilitate its faster development.
In 2000, the S.M. Krishna-led Congress government constituted a high-powered committee (under Nanjundappa) for redress of regional imbalances.
The committee, in its report in 2003, listed 39 taluks as the “most backward” of which most of them were from the North Karnataka.
The committee recommended a special developmental plan of Rs. 16,000 crores across 8 years, for the backward regions to bridge the development gap.
Further, the committee pleaded for an optimal 60:40 ratio in favour of the northern region as a basis for additional resource allocation.
However, despite acknowledging the implementation of these recommendations, successive governments have not implemented them fully.
What is the context within North Karnataka?
Northern Karnataka is constituted of two main regions namely – Hyderabad Karnataka and Bombay Karnataka.
Among these, developmental lag is more severe in Hyderabad Karnataka, which was under the Hyderabad Nizams until 1947.
Notably, two of the districts of the region – “Bidar and Kalaburagi”, were identified as the poorest districts in the country by 2005 NSSO survey.
However, the Hyderabad-Karnataka grouping has discouraged employees from other regions to work there, and many government positions lie vacant.
Development projects, particularly related to infrastructure and irrigation, often find lower or little allocation in comparison to other regions.
What is the way ahead?
Lack of political will is often cited as the biggest reason for backwardness, though the region has sent five Chief Ministers so far.
But some researchers point out that this regional imbalance is the product of plans, because plan makers have concentrated on overall development.
Notably, in the holistic context, the focus is on the overall GDP and job growth rather than the equitable optimum growth of all regions.
In this context, the report of the Nanjundappa committee in 2000 needs to be revived and taken forward with conviction.
