Will Konkan Leaders Strive To Drag Funds?

     Konkan never gets center place in State budget. This year is not an exception. The budget stated by Finance Minister Sudheer Mungantiwar has not directly granted any scheme for the development of the narrow belt of Konkan. However, if they think about, the political leaders of this land can drag a lot from several funds declared by the minister.

        Although Konkan is famous for substantial rain, water scarcity is increasingly tightening its clutches. Last monsoon was not satisfactory and several villages have been enlisted as to be drought shaded. They must get aids. The farm pond scheme is useless for Konkan as the land is already divided in small pieces. Especially the size of ponds is needed to be reduced. The minister proposed a provision to support farmers does not include mango cultivators. They have not yet received arrears of compensation promised long back.
     The Konkan farmer cannot enjoy loan waiving as he does not lend for cultivation. He cannot enjoy special subsidy as he does not own required land to comply the norms. He cannot even drag attention and sympathy as he does not commit suicide. Finally he remains as he was. The local public servants have to strive more than they do for protesting a project to come this region.

    The provision proposed by Finance Minister for PM Jan Arogya Scheme are worth welcome, but the problem of the Konkan belt is that the public health centers do not have adequate staff. On one hand the posts of medical officers are vacant and on the other hand appointed medical officers do not join or leave soon.  

    We welcome substantial provision made for road construction and communication projects and hope the rural roads will be well repaired and newly built wherever necessary. However the government claims of completion of 12,984 km of national highways, why did the four laning work of the only national highway of Konkan, the Mumbai Goa Kochi Road walk heavily? They would blame on public protest that prolonged the settlement of compensation and affected land acquisition; then what happened that let the construction of dual bridges stalled for years?

    The minister made specific mention of four railway lines in Marathwada and North Maharashtra. Two more lines to connect Konkan to the rest of the state are also awaiting funds. Perhaps they will be more helpful for the concept of dry ports than those mentioned by the minister.

     We thank the minister for including the name of Ratnagiri, a major district town in the konkan region as well as of Sindhudurg for speedier work of airports. Considering the threat of terrorist activities the most priority to this work is essential.

    The minister should have spoken about ports and harbours. Voyage on ship is now simply a past for Konkan. Don’t be nostalgic. But fisheries, a major sector of Konkan economy is badly in need of proper infrastructure of fishing jetties and cold storages. In the national budget the Finance Minister of the country had stated an idea to establish a separate fisheries department which was warmly welcomed by the people of Konkan. The idea does not seem to be reflected in the State budget.

   Therefore it comes to the regional leadership to keenly study and divert sufficient monetary aids to Konkan. Otherwise the narrow paradise land belt will continue to live with the want of development and its people poverty stricken.