Has Article 371(J) been elusive?

The Kalyana Karnataka (KK) region has been lagging consistently on economic parameters. According to the Economic Survey of Karnataka 2018-19, the last five districts on per capita income basis (for the year 2016-17) belonged to the KK region.

This is when the per capita income figures of the state is estimated to be over 1.6 times higher than that at the national level for the year 2018-19. Similarly, in 2017, the World Economic Forum identified Bengaluru in south Karnataka as one of the cities having the best infrastructure, telecommunication and fitting environment for business from labour perspective making it the fourth-largest foreign direct investment attraction in the country.

It is not a coincidence that the southern Karnataka region is prosperous on all indicators. This description presents a picture of how development within the state is skewed. Overall, the state appears to be doing very well even while a significant region within it has remained severely underdeveloped.

From time to time, a movement has always been alive demanding justice on economic and political grounds in the KK region. Lack of development hits the region even more given that much of this region falls in the arid belt. This region is home to 18% of the state’s population; among them, 18.9% belong to the SC and 13% to the ST category. Besides, the region has a substantial population of minorities with 22.8% compared to the state’s 12.4%. The minorities are predominantly Muslims.

People of the KK region claim to have received indifferent treatment mainly because of political domination by the southern region of the state which enjoys numerical supremacy in the Assembly. This gives them an undue advantage in diverting the larger share of state’s funds for their region, especially in important sectors including infrastructure, agriculture and extensive welfare services like easy bank loans. Until recently, these benefits used to be a privilege to avail.

The plight of the people of KK region has been highlighted through several research studies and committees set up from time to time to look into the issue. The notable one was a High Powered Committee on Regional Disparities under late D M Nanjundappa. In its report in 2002, the panel identified 114 taluks as “backward” in the state. An overwhelming majority was from the KK region.

Despite claims of state intervention, the gap between the regions within the state had not contracted much. Until 2010, not much progress was witnessed according to the report submitted by the Centre for Multi-Disciplinary Research, Dharwad, to the state government.

Finally, the ray of hope for the people of the KK region came in the form of Article 371(J) when it was legislated in Parliament as the 118th Constitution Amendment in 2012. It was perceived that the Article would help the people of the region by focusing on development interventions by the government in all sectors.

However, the overall perception among the people of the region is far from satisfactory even after nearly eight years of its implementation as no evidence of qualitative changes happening for them is felt by the people. The much-hyped Kalyana Karnataka Regional Development Board (KKRDB) is criticised for its poor structure because it is alleged to be in a position where it cannot even spend the special grant.

On the special quota of seats and vacancies for public education and employment, there is mixed opinion because the students of the region were able to avail the reservation facility in education within this region and elsewhere in the state.

However, on the employment front, it was not satisfactory, mostly because there were no job notifications as such in the state to make a difference despite the huge number of vacancies existing in various departments.

So far as private initiatives to generate employment for the local people is concerned, the National Investment and Management Zone (NIMZ) was created. Curiously, the one established at Kalaburagi has not taken off whereas the Tumakuru project, under the same scheme, has been in progress with greater zeal presenting a clear case of preferential treatment for the latter.

In the opinion of the local people, the resources in the form of Raichur Power Plant that generates nearly 40% of the power supplied in the state, has not been of any benefit to them. They expect the government to share its spoils in the form of royalty, which can go in developing agriculture by providing irrigation facility or to promote industrialisation.

High Court bench

On a positive note, the establishment of permanent High Court bench and the setting up of the Central University of Karnataka in Kalaburagi were the only consolation. These were some of the initiatives that were taken up immediately after the legislation of the Article to accelerate the development process in some parts of the KK region. The recent state budget has no significant announcement from a development perspective for the KK region. The expectation had risen when the present regime attempted to connect emotionally with the people of the region when it renamed it in September 2019. However, except for an allocation of Rs 500 crore for building the ‘Anubhava Mantapa’ at Basavakalyan, there was nothing to cheer about for the region.

There was anticipation of establishment of a separate secretariat and a Skill Development Centre in Kalaburagi, a tourism university in Hampi, agriculture tool manufacturing unit in Bidar and special allocation for Narayanpur Right Bank Canal (NRBC) for its extension in Raichur. The expectations were real because most of these were promised in the previous budget.

In conclusion, it is amply clear that the KK region could not make the anticipated progress despite constitutional intervention. This is unlike the backward regions in other states (Telangana and Maharashtra). If this phenomenon persists, it not only defeats the very concept of welfare state and the specific legislation but also gives rise to a feeling of hopelessness among the affected people leading to discontent and unrest which never augurs well for the society as a whole.

(The writer is a faculty member with the Gujarat Institute of Development Research, Ahmedabad)