RAJASTHAN’S EXPECTATIONS: AN OPPORTUNITY FOR GROWTH
It can only be called a coincidence that this time the budget of the BJP-ruled Bhajan Lal Sharma government of Rajasthan was presented in the State Legislative Assembly by a woman minister, the Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister of the State, Diya Kumari, and on Tuesday, the Finance Minister of the Modi government, Nirmala Sitharaman, will present the country’s general budget in the Lok Sabha in the new Parliament House.
The people of Rajasthan, the state with the largest land area in the country, have a lot of expectations from Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman this time too. Rajasthan has some more expectations because, after the formation of Chhattisgarh, a new state separated from Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan became the largest state in the country in terms of area. Rajasthan has had its own adverse geographical conditions from the very beginning. The largest part of the Thar Desert, which is not only the largest desert in the country but also in Asia, is in Rajasthan. The cost of providing roads, water, electricity and other basic services is very expensive here because the cost of services is much higher than in other states.
The country’s largest international border with Pakistan, which is adjacent to the desert areas of the state, also passes through Rajasthan and more central assistance is needed for the development of border security areas here. Rajasthan has a severe water problem along with daily natural disasters. Despite being ten per cent of the total area of the country, the amount of underground and surface water in Rajasthan is only one per cent. Most of the blocks of the state are declared dark zones, while in many parts, drinking water has to be supplied through tankers and special trains in the summer. In many areas, there is no drinking water.
Additionally, due to the high amount of fluoride in the water, many areas of western Rajasthan are infamous as Banka Patti, and this contaminated water makes people suffer from diseases related to teeth and bones. Animals are also not untouched by this. The help of the Government of India is necessary to improve the quality of water and bring fresh water to these areas.
To get rid of this water problem in eastern Rajasthan, ERCP project was envisaged at a cost of Rs 40,000 crore during the tenure of Vasundhara Raje government, which was also taken forward by Ashok Gehlot’s government, but the politics over the question of declaring it a national project and the agreement with Madhya Pradesh became so heated that this project could not be fully completed.
The current Bhajan Lal government of Rajasthan, after coming to power, has given full attention to this ambitious project like the previous governments and has also signed a new MoU with Madhya Pradesh for the PKC-ERCP project to benefit the people of 23 districts of the state with drinking water and irrigation facilities by increasing the number of districts that were earlier benefiting from it from 13. Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma has indicated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will soon lay the foundation stone of this ambitious project. With this happening, it is expected that more funds will be provided for this project in the Union Budget.
In the past, Rajasthan was transformed by the Indira Gandhi Canal Project, which brought life to the desert. Similarly, the Barmer Oil Refinery and Petro Complex is expected to change the face of western Rajasthan. The PKC-ERCP project could do the same for eastern Rajasthan, provided it receives national project status and adequate funding.
Rajasthan’s agriculture heavily depends on monsoon rains. Poor rainfall leads to droughts and famines, making the demand for special state status even more pressing. Successive governments have appealed for 100% central assistance to address the state’s drinking water and agricultural challenges under the changed circumstances of global warming.
Tourism is another vital sector for Rajasthan. The state is renowned for its historical sites, palaces, forts, castles, and havelis. Incidentally, the Union Minister of Tourism and Culture of the country, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, is also from Rajasthan. In this regard, Rajasthan has a lot of expectations from the Union Budget. As per the rules, Rajasthan should be given the status of Heritage State and 100 per cent central assistance should be given to preserve the historical heritage scattered all around the state.
Rajasthan is quite famous for its stone industry as well as marble and granite industry, mines and minerals and its handicraft industry. The opium cultivators located in the border areas of other states also have many problems of their own, which can only be resolved by the Central Government. Dairy and other agriculture-related industries are also expecting central assistance.
It remains to be seen how kind Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will be to Rajasthan, the largest state in the country in terms of area and bordering Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana while presenting the budget in Parliament on Tuesday.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
Gopendra Nath Bhatt The writer is a senior journalist
