Kalyana K'taka: Liberated, pushed to the margins

Basic health, educational facilities and job opportunities still elude Kalyana Karnataka, 75 years after its integration into the state

Pampanna Nervi of Raichur is 96 years old, but he is still fighting. As a 22-year-old in 1948, he had fought against the British and the Nizams of Hyderabad for democracy. He believed that their sufferings would end if elected representatives took the reins. But last week, when he signed a petition with his blood, in protest, demanding an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) for Raichur, he was dejected.

“The British and the Nizams are gone. But today, we are forced to fight against our own elected representatives to get even basic facilities. Sadly, this is what our sacrifices and bloodshed during the colonial rule have yielded,” said Nervi.

This September 17, five districts of Karnataka, six from Maharashtra and seven from Telangana will enter their 75th year of independence from the princely state of Hyderabad, which was under the Nizam rule. While India got its independence in August 1947, the Hyderabad state was liberated on September 17, 1948, through ‘Operation Polo’ led by the Indian government.

Decades later, part of the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra that was under the Nizam’s rule has improved educationally, and the per capita income of the seven Telangana districts is growing. However, the districts in Karnataka that were once in the Hyderabad state — Kalaburagi, Raichur, Bidar, Koppal and Yadgir — remain neglected. These districts, along with Ballari, and the newly-formed Vijayanagar, are collectively known as Kalyana Karnataka.

Low per capita income, below-average literacy levels, poor healthcare infrastructure, unemployment and other problems cause the districts to remain at the bottom of the development stack.

In fact, as they rank high on the multi-dimensional poverty index, Raichur and Yadgir are in the list of ‘aspirational districts’ identified by the Niti Aayog, which includes 115 of the most backward districts of the country.

Experts blame government negligence and historical factors as reasons for the backwardness of the region, despite its adequate natural resources.

Kalyana Karnataka is the largest producer of rice, tur dal, jowar and cotton in the state, thanks to its three major rivers — Krishna, Bhima and Tungabhadra. The districts also produce 45 per cent of the state’s electricity. In addition, they lead the mining of gold (in Hutti) and the manufacture of cement and pharmaceuticals. Yet, the per capita income of the region is well below the state average.

As per Kalaburagi-based economist Sangeetha Kattimani, the volatility of agricultural production, rain-dependent cultivation, poor irrigation facilities and a dismal industrial and start-up ecosystem are major factors for low income. In addition, unbearable heat, common in the region, brings down human productivity for at least three months in a year.

“Also, over the years, several proposals for development work have not taken off due to lack of political coordination. For instance, the proposals and feasibility reports for the national investment and manufacturing zone that was supposed to come up at Kalaburagi’s Chittapur, the railway division at Kalaburagi, IIT at Raichur and similar works were not submitted on time, resulting in other districts getting the projects,” added Kattimani.

In 1953, when the Union government formed the State Reorganisation Commission, it was reported that Kalaburagi, Bidar and Raichur had a surplus budget. However, the region had lagged behind in health and education since the Nizam rule. This continued to have a ripple effect in the decades that followed.

To address this, the Commission recommended that the state government allocate additional funds to make these districts equal with the rest of the then Mysore state.

Successive state governments have formed three committees to address regional imbalances in the last 75 years — the 1954 fact-finding committee, the 1980 committee headed by Dharam Singh and the 2002 D M Nanjundappa committee. After detailed study, all recommended the allocation of additional funds for development. But decade after decade, governments have failed to implement these recommendations, widening the gap.

In 2007, the Nanjundappa Committee's report came as a ray of hope for Kalyana Karnataka, as additional funds began to trickle in. In 2013, after the Kalyana Karnataka Region Development Board (KKRDB) was given statutory status, the state government began providing an additional Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 crore to the region annually. But these funds too, have failed to uplift the region.

According to the vice-chancellor of a university in Kalyana Karnataka, the region has suffered the effect of ‘peripheral syndrome’, wherein the lack of geographical proximity to capital cities caused these districts to be neglected by Nizams and successive state governments.

As a result, activist Raghavendra Kushtagi observes, Kalyana Karnataka's industrial development has been unsatisfactory. The region has only been given projects that were rejected by the rest of Karnataka. Cement, pharmaceuticals and thermal energy industries were set up here, despite the protests of locals on account of pollution and health hazards. In spite of Raichur having the second-largest cotton market in Asia, no textile industries have been established in the district.

“The state government has allocated hundreds of crores for the environmentally disastrous Yettinhole project. But it has not provided funds to construct canals from the three main rivers of the Kalyana Karnataka region to its hinterlands. Our agriculture would have improved if we had the infrastructure to utilise this water,” explains farmer leader Chamaras Malipatil.

Migration

Due to this lack of infrastructure and the prevalence of ‘zamindar-like’ culture, locals migrate to bigger cities to work as construction labourers and daily-wage workers.

Mahalakshmi of Yadgir’s Malkappanahalli, a member of Grameena Kooli Karmikara Sanghatane, says that hundreds of farmers from the region migrate to cities every year for employment. This affects their children, who are forced to drop out of school. Currently, the school dropout rate in the region is 5.77 per cent as against the state average of 2.96 per cent.

The literacy rate in the region stands at 64.4 per cent whereas the state average has grown to 75.6 per cent. Yadgir, Kalaburagi, Bidar, Raichur and Koppal rank the lowest in SSLC and II PU results almost every year. The situation is worse in higher education.

“In 2021, the gross enrolment in higher education in Yadgir stood at 6 per cent and 14 per cent in Raichur, against the average of 32 per cent in the state. A major reason for this is inadequate teaching faculty,” says educationist Razaq Ustad from Raichur.

He adds that of the 412 government colleges in Karnataka, 360 are in Bengaluru, Mysuru and Belagavi divisions, while Kalyana Karnataka has just 62. Additionally, around 24,000 posts of teachers are vacant in the region's schools and colleges.

“There are 6,000 engineering seats and 700 medical seats in private and government institutions in the region. 80 per cent of the seats are reserved for locals under Article 371(J) of the Constitution. But most students prefer colleges outside the region and migrate for employment,” says economist Kattimani.

The high number of vacancies is not limited to education. According to government data from 2021, there were more than 40,000 vacancies in various government departments, the highest being in the health sector.

Inadequate health facilities

Seven months back, Mallamma of Yadgir’s Yargol gram panchayat was suffering from anaemia during her pregnancy. Due to a lack of facilities in the local hospital in Yadgir, she was referred to the Raichur Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS). The family then rushed to Raichur, 75 km away from Yadgir. Without timely medical intervention, Mallamma's baby did not survive.

According to the recent National Family Health Survey, malnutrition is a major problem in Kalyana Karnataka. Around 42 per cent of children have stunted growth and 23 per cent are wasted. Over half of the female population is anaemic.

Patients in Bidar, Yadgir and Raichur are often referred to bigger cities like Kalaburagi, Ballari and Hyderabad for advanced treatment.

Raichur AIIMS Horata Samiti State Convener Dr Basavaraj Kalasa said that Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital and RIMS (established in 2007) have been providing only basic medical care in the region. The Samiti has been staging a protest in the district for the last 120 days, demanding the setting up of an AIIMS.

Dr Kalasa says, “As per the Nanjundappa committee report, Raichur was supposed to have institutes like Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) so that an environment of learning is developed. But the IIT has been diverted to Kittur Karnataka instead. Now, we fear our hopes of having an AIIMS may meet a similar fate due to lack of political will.”

He adds that the words of the Telangana chief minister on the merging of Raichur with Telangana may find support if the district continues to be deprived of facilities.

According to state Congress leader and former minister Priyank Kharge who represents Chittapur in Kalaburagi district, the history and politics of the region are a major part of the problem. “Hundreds of years of negligence cannot be nullified in just 75 years. We have made a lot of progress in various sectors. Yet, there is a lot to catch up on,” he said.

While agreeing with the state government’s decision to reassess the Nanjundappa panel report — as several parameters have now become obsolete — Kharge emphasised that the Niti Aayog should come up with better solutions for the region.

“Most government officials consider transfer to Kalyana Karnataka as a punishment. Things will not change until this mindset changes. How will the region see consistent growth when major posts in administration are vacant for months together, and officers are forced to fill additional roles?” he asked.

At present, several positions have been vacant for months in the region's development board. The role of KKRDB secretary was vacant for almost one year and was filled only a few days ago.

R Venkatesh Kumar, former secretary of KKRDB says that the board is focusing on health, education, nutrition, agriculture, financial inclusion and transport for the overall development of the region. In addition, to address the dearth of skilled manpower and fill vacant posts, the KKRDB has been conducting training for competitive exams.

"The board gets sufficient funds from the government. However, we are completely dependent on other government agencies for the implementation of projects, and the shortage of staff in various government departments is directly affecting the utilisation of funds," Kumar said.

Funding has proved an inadequate solution, due to lack of implementation. "It is shameful that funds sanctioned to the KKRDB are returned unutilised almost every year. Officials posted here are waiting to pack their bags to other districts, rather than execute the projects," said Kushtagi.