CONTEMPORARY ISSUES

THE CONCEPT OF SUSTAINALBLE DEVELOPMENT Since the 19th century here has been a major debate regarding economic development v/s environmental protection. Most complexed global problems are of our own making and therefore not beyond our power to resolve. We must understand the global dimensions of pollution poverty and injustice which have placed a burden on the environment and take the responsibility to solve these problems for future generations and the survival of the whole human race. We need a human revolution that reforms our views of the natural world life and values and alter the situation before time runs out. In other words we need a charter to build a sustainable global society. Development means progress and growing efficiency of production improved standards of living increasing the per capita, income increasing consumption, new employment avenues, technological conveniences and reduction of poverty. Economic development equips a country to arrest environmental decline since protecting the environment is expensive and requires advance technology. The environmentalists argue that a growth oriented economy depletes non renewable and renewable resources and leads to an ecological imbalance, consumerism, over exploitation of resources, deforestation, over grazing, intensive farming and fishing and so on. The fact is that development need not stop nor should it destroy nature. Therefore what is needed is to reconcile both points of view through what is called sustainable development or eco-development. The world commission on environment and development defines sustainable development as, development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. In other worlds the quality of the earth will leave behind to our inheritors must at least be such that it is even if it is not better it is what we have inherited. This idea has certain implications. Any production which uses natural resources creates waste. Sustainability would mean a continuous monitoring of renewable and non renewable resources not exceeding the regenerative capacity of nature. Certain questions may be raised in this context. How does one define the needs of the present? If the consumption in developed countries is the standard that the developing world seems to attain then sustainability becomes meaningless and would spell disaster for the environment. The first world has to agree to curb consumption in a big way to keep the world habitable but the developed countries are not willing to do so. The

history of humanity has shown that the resource use and waste disposal takes place in the same environment. When resources were plentiful the environment had the capacity to assimilate waste. Today, the world is no longer empty of people and the eco-system has grown larger and its capacity for disturbing the environment has increased. Population is at the center of concern for sustainability and the rapid growth of population has had an environmental impact and the quality of life has been affected. The population must be monitored to create better demographic conditions. The idea of sustainability was putting forward by Maurice Strongat. The essence was to have a future in which life is improved worldwide through economic development and where the local environment is protected and science is mobilized to create new opportunities. Instead of catering to the wasteful consumption of the rich, production should aim at meeting the basic needs of the people like food, health, education, shelter, etc. The idea of sustainability draws together the environmental, economic and social concerns so that the future generations have an equal right to the resources that we are using today. Some environmental benefits cannot be assigned a monetary value. The exploitation of natural resources leads to social injustice and therefore a balance must be kept between development and conservation of natural resources. The government policy and all our institutions must be such that economic efficiency goes hand in hand with environmental protection and social justice keeping in mind the present and future needs. A growth oriental development puts a major burden on the poor who are dependent on the nature directly especially in the rural and forest areas and it is they who get marginalized to the environmentally fragile areas. Sustainable development involves a fundamental refashioning of existing social, political and value system. Unfortunately, in an age where material attainments are the criteria of success such a transformation becomes very difficult. The world commission report has stated that there is no difference between the goals of development and appropriate environmental protection. The short and long term impact of our actions on the environment has to be taken into account to improve the welfare of the people. This requires cooperation amongst nations so that they voluntarily exercise self restraint in matters of consumption. It involves finding an appropriate balance between economic growth, a reasonable level of consumption and the preservation of natural resources. Today the time has come, for us to rethink the way in which we look at global environmental issues and the approach advocated is sustainable development.

INDIAN EXPERIENCE The rest of the world has had a profound impact on what is happening within India. Indian civilization has always been sensitive to the eco-system. The onset of colonialism poses a threat to the eco system of production in India which went through changes. Indias model of development has focused mainly on material growth and today the goods and services are extracting natural resources at a rate far greater than their capacity to regenerate and we are pumping pollutants into the atmosphere far higher than we can clean up. The result is an unsustainable system that could collapse at any time. A minority of Indias population receives a significantly higher proportion of benefits of development while many millions have no access to the fruits of development. This is because the natural and cultural resources have been eroded. The Indian governments policy since the 1990s has been encouraging liberalization and this has pushed the country into greater forms of unsustainability. Infrastructure development in India emphasizes the making of super highways and not simple parts to the village. Sustainable developments is simply not about reducing poverty but reducing the gluttony of the rich. India has large human, economic, scientific and knowledge resources but the development mindset is still centered around material gains. The multinational companies in their reckless pursuit of growth have been insensitive to natural resources and this has led to environmental decline. It is only the peoples mobilization through NGOs and sensitive government officials that can lead to a quiet revolution to help communities at the grass root level to bring about natural resource management and find their own options to sustainable development.

ENVIORNMENTAL MOVEMENTS Today many environmental issues have reached a critical point and finally the citizens of the world have become increasingly aware and are pressuring the government to bring about serious policy changes. Every country has its own environmental groups who have raised their voices in favour of protecting the amount both at the local and regional levels. Some of these movements have gained national importance while others have attracted international attention. Likewise, various summits have been held since 1970

to hole the government accountable to bring about a rethinking of development. With the publication of a book called Silent Spring by Rachel Carson in 1962, a mass movement geared up against the use of chemical pesticides in agriculture. The book had so much impact that in April 1970 over 3 lakh Americans took part in Earth Day Celebrations which was possibly the largest environmental demonstration in human history. Therefore, the environmental movement may be said to have started on that day. This later on initiated the birth of a large number of environmental groups for the sake of conservation on nature. Today, population explosion and intensive industrialization have devastated nature by overutilization of natural resources and polluted the earths eco system. Therefore there is a growing need and awareness about environmental protection as being necessary for the survival of humanity and it is this that has led to various movements in different parts of the world.

SILENT SPRING- Rachel Carson

Rachel Carson questioned human faith in technological progress and her writings taught the American people a new way of thinking about the earth. She enabled the people to see themselves as connected to the earth and therefore mans attitude towards nature was critically important. She was a marine biologist and took an ecological view of nature. A serialized book on seas was published by the New Yorker magazine. She then turned her attention to the dangers of pesticides in agriculture and its ill effects on the flora and fauna. She challenged the notion that man was destined to control nature by using technology and exposed the indifference of the government and corporate to the ill effects of DDT. She was greatly criticized and her credibility as a scientist was challenged by negative propaganda. President

Kennedy was impressed by her book and called for a special committee to investigate its findings. The committees report supported Carsons findings and as a result environmental protection agency was set up. Al Gores environmentalism drew directly from his experience reading Carsons work. She brought about a new way of thinking about the earth as she stated that pesticides not only harm birds and animals, but contaminated the food supply. Thus causing genetic damage, cancer and even threatening the survival of any species. She stressed the need to regulate the chemical industry in order to protect the environment and maintain a balance in nature. Today, Rachel Carson stands vindicated as not only her book but her entire life is an inspiration to all those who love nature and realize that man needs to control technology rather than controlling nature.

SUMMITS
70% of the worlds income is produced and consumed by just 15% of the people from the developed countries. Keeping this fact in view, it has become imperative to organize some global platforms to discuss the various issues and seek cooperation among nations in solving such kinds of problems in the common interest for the better survival of human beings. The idea of getting everyone together took the shape in the form of the first UN conference on human environment held at Stockholm from 5th 10th June 1972. The conference was attended by a large number of NGO groups and Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India was the only visiting head of government to attend the conference. The conference expressed its concern over depletion of the forest, mineral and marine resources. It also expressed fear about the problems of air and water pollution and began with a pledge to protect and improve the environment for present and future generations. The main focus of Stockholm declaration was on the following facts:

1. Natural Resources must be conserved because the earths capacity to

produce renewable resources should be maintained and non renewable resources should be shared with judicious views. 2. Developmental processes and environmental concerns should go together and the less developed countries should be given all possible assistance to promote a rational environmental management. 3. Pollution should not exceed the capacity of the environment to clear itself and marine pollution should be prevented. Indira Gandhi expressed her opinion that the removal of poverty should be an integral part of World Environmental Strategy since population; poverty and environment are inter related. India is a rich land with poor people. This can be proven by the fact that India possess 16% of the worlds population and 2.4% of the land area and the majority of the people are directly dependent on natural resources of the country for their basic needs of food, fodder and shelter. The Stockholm conference can be ascribed as the foundation stone for consolidating the idea of environmental protection on a global scale.

RAMSAR CONVENTION: (iran) The Ramsar convention on wet lands of international importance is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wet lands, now and in the future. Wet lands have an economic, cultural, scientific and recreational value and above all perform fundamental ecological functions. This convention is named after the town of Ramsar in Iran and it was adopted by the participating nations on February 2nd, 1971. Unlike other global environmental conventions, Ramsar is not affiliated with the UN systems of multi lateral environmental agreements but it works very closely with them. Th Ramsar list of wet lands includes 1869 sites. The nation with the highest number is the UK and the nation with the greatest area is Canada. The convention takes a broad definition of wet lands including lakes and rivers, swamps and marshes, grasslands and oasis, estuaries, mangroves, coral reefs and human made sites such as fish ponds, salt pans, etc. The conventions mission is the wise use of all wet lands through local and national actions and international cooperation towards achieving sustainable

developments throughout the world. The signatories to this convention meet every three years and amendments are made from time to time. The head quarters are located in GLAND in Switzerland. The central concept of the Ramsar philosophy is to maintain the ecological character of the wet lands. All the member states have committed themselves to ensure effective management of their wet lands through national land use planning and appropriate policies, legislation and public education. MONTREAL CONVENTION: The Montreal protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer is an international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of a number of substances believed to be responsible for ozone depletion. The treaty was open for signature on September 16th, 1987 and entered into force on January, 1989. It was ratified by 196 states and was headed by Kofi Annan as the single most successful international agreement. The treaty provides a time table on which the production of depleting substances must be phased out and eventually eliminated. Precautionary measures had to be undertaken to control global emissions with the ultimate objective of eliminating those substances with the help of scientific knowledge. With this in mind, a series of stepped limits on CFC use and production, levels of consumption were acknowledged to meet the needs of developing countries. The protocol agreed to set the year 2013 as the time to freeze the consumption and production of HSFCs. The protocol required the Parties to base their future decisions on the current scientific, environmental, technical and economic information. A multi lateral fund was to be set up to provide funds, to help developing countries, to phase out the use of ozone depleting substances. As of September 16, 2009, all countries in the United Nations have ratified the original Montreal protocol. The impact of the Montreal Protocol is that the atmospheric concentration of many of the substances have either leveled off or decreased and there are some signs of ozone recovery.

RIO DE JANERIO: (Earth Summit- 1992) A number of legally binding conventions were signed by the Governments of 150 countries who adopted the UN convention on climate change and pledged their support for a movement towards sustainable development. Some of the appealing principles of the Rio declaration are:

1. Human /beings are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony

with nature.
2. The right to development must be fulfilled equitably to meet the

environmental needs of present and future generations.

3. In order to achieve sustainable development, environmental protection

should constitute an integral part f the development process and this includes protection of forests and conservation of biological diversity. 4. In other words environmental protection cannot be considered apart from the development process since both are interdependent. 5. People of all countries must reduce or eliminate unsustainable patterns of production and consumption to raise the quality of life.
6. The industrialized nations must assist the developing countries to

implement national strategies to limit emissions.

7. Nations must participate in a continuing research effort to formulate

environmental policies and create public awareness of climate change through education and training 8. All the signatory nations were required to develop a national action plan for their own country. In conclusion, all there conventions of the Rio declaration constitute a commitment in taking the world away from the self destructive path of conventional development over the years a series of conferences have been held by the UN and by international and national organizations in the field of environmental protection.

Copenhagen Climate Summit- December 2009 It is the largest civil movement against climate change yet there was no legally binding treaty and the talks were inconclusive. The African countries took a tough stand and there were 130 countries participating. In the end parties adopted parallel decisions under UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol. The basic terms of the Copenhagen Accord were brokered directly by resident Obama and a handful of key leaders from the developmeing countries. The conference was marked by bitter divisions, confusions and setbacks. Commitment by developed countries to give 30 million dollars to developing

countries to adapt to climate change. An aspirational decision for all countries to reduce temperature by 2 degree was taken. The Copenhagen accord was a political agreement of novel form and many of its provisions need to be further elaborated and the timeline for doing so is not specified. Adaptation by developing countries, mobilization of financial

JOHANNESBERG: The word SUMMIT on sustainable development was held in Johannesburg, South Africa from 26th August-4th September 2002. It was popularly known as the earth summit and was conveyened to discuss sustainable development by the United Nations. The Johannesburg declaration on sustainable developments build on earlier declarations made at the UN conference on human environment at the first earths summit in Rio. It is an agreement to focus on the world wide conditions that pose severe threats to sustainable development such as chronic hunger, malnutrition, arm conflict, organized crime, corruption, natural disasters, illicit drug problems, arms trafficking, trafficking in persons, xenophobia, chronic diseases like AIDS. An agreement was made to restore the worlds depleting fisheries by 2015. Instead of agreements between governments, the Summit was organized mainly around 300 partnership initiatives. It was criticized because : The absence of the United States, George Bush Sr. boycotted the summit. The Earth summit was criticized for excluding a variety of organizations and individuals who were instrumental in conservation and green history. The summit served exquisite food while Africa was starving. SD mantra was misused in order to camouflage economic development.

HEALTHCARE IN INDIA The concepts of health and disease are variable in different socio cultural concepts. The WHO defines health as a state of complete, physical, mental and social well being. Health behavior should be adopted to prevent disease and promote general welfare. The constitution of India envisages the establishment of a new social order based on equality, freedom, justice and dignity of the individual. It aims at elimination of poverty, ignorance and ill health and directs the STATE to regard the raising of nutrition and standard of living, improvement of public health as amongst its primary duties for

men, women and children. Successive five year plans have been providing the framework within which states may develop their health services, infrastructure, facilities for medical education and research, etc. There is a national health policy which states that disease should be prevented and general welfare should be promoted. In the last three decades, cultural progress has been achieved in the promotion of the health status of the people. Mortality rates have decreased and diseases like small pox, plague, malaria have been controlled to a large extent. A network of hospitals and dispensaries has been built. There is specialized curative care, a large stock of medical personnel and a significant indigenous capacity to produce drugs, hospital equipment, vaccines, etc. Universal immunization programmes have been undertaken. In spite of all this progress, the demographic and health picture of the country is a matter of serious concern. The high rate of population growth has an adverse effect on the quality of life. Mortality rates amongst women and children remain high. Malnutrition is severe and diseases like TB and blindness have a high incidence. Only 30% of the rural population has access to portable (drinking) water. Hence, the incidences of water borne diseases are very high. 5% of the rural population enjoys basic sanitation facilities. Poverty, ignorance and infectitious diseases are responsible form not only the high rate of mortality but people are also deprived of basic health facilities. A sociological knowledge of peoples needs and desires can help in enlisting the peoples support or participation in health programmes and the evaluation of these programmes. The behavior patterns and the lifestyle of the people affect health such as food habits, beliefs and therefore every region needs a different programme. Lack of education and a stressful environmental are some of the causal factors affecting mental health. In 2000 AD in India, one in every 40 adults was infected with HIV and the figure is projected to be above 5 million in the next few years. The WHO is spearheading a campaign against AIDS. The HIV virus enters the blood stream and leads to a collapse of the defense mechanisms of the body. All the body fluids contain this virus and when it enters the immune system it is held by the T-CELLS and therefore has multiple effects. High risk groups include truck drivers, commercial sex workers and migrant workers and every infected person is a carrier. In modern times, mobility, social isolation, conditions of work are conducive to the spread of this problem and in the long run this disrupts peoples family and social life. The existing health situation in the country is largely endangered by the development policies based on western morals which are inappropriate to the real needs of the

people and the socio economic conditions of the country. We are trying to blindly ape the western. Most medical services and a hospital based approach benefits the upper crust in urban areas. The doctor- patient relationship in a hospital is impersonal. Another problem is securing the publics and individuals acceptance in participating in preventive health programmes. People usually demand curative services to treat their illness. What is needed is a comprehensive primary health care service for the entire population in the rural and urban areas. Policy makers must learn to think like the people of the community. The continuous emphasis on the curative approach has led to a neglect of the preventive and rehabilitative aspects of health care. Various health programmes have failed to involved individuals and families in establishing a self reliant community and indentifying its healths needs and priorities. In India, there are certain traditional indigenous health systems such as ayurveda, homeopath, naturopathy and so on which must be treated as alternatives. The readily available resources must be used and a harmonious social environmental must be created so that comprehensive health policy is evolved. Primary health care services must be decentralized and public health education programmes for adults and families must be started. Individual responsibility on prevention, promotion and rehabilitation must be emphasized. This is a dynamic process of change and innovation through a time bound phased programme. Research for eradicating diseases must be funded. The slogan should be, HEALTH FOR ALL and the right to healthcare must emerge as a movement. The national health policy must be developed as an important issue of survival. EDUCATION IN INDIA Historical India had many learning centers like Takshila, Nalanda, Varanasi, etc but education was confined to the males of the higher caste and was mainly religious in content. The western type of education came to India with the British Raj. The India constitution made the right to education as a directive principle and the responsibility for was to be shared by the center and the State. All the five year plans have emphasized that education must be an integral part of economic planning. In spite of the growing population, 40% of our population is illiterate and the drop our rate is very high. Many private institutions have emerged in recent years and education has become a marketable commodity. The quality of education remains low.

The education policy in India defines the essence and role of education. It states that education should be for all and should lead to the all round development of the individual. Education has an enculturing role in that it promotes a scientific temper independent thinking, refines the sensitivities and perceptions that contribute to national cohesion and further the goals of socialism, secularism and democracy. Education develops man power for different levels of the economy. It is also the substrata on which research flourishes and it leads to both spiritual and material development and self reliance. In brief, education is a unique instrument to bring about social change in the present and future and this is the cardinal principal of the national policy in education. In 1966, the Kothari commission was appointed to look into the relationship between education and productivity. A year earlier, Kendriya Vidhyalaya was started in different parts of the country so as to have a uniform system of education for transferrable employees of the government. The constitution has guaranteed free and compulsory primary education for children under 14. To facilitate this, child labour has been banned. The attendance rate at the primary level has been increasing but due to economic and social conditions the dropout rate is high, moreover, education is not really free at the primary level. 80% of the elementary level schools are run by govt or supported by govt. There is a shortage of resources, a high teacher-pupil ratio, poor level of teachers and a lack of political will. Though primary education is supposed to be available in every habitation it is not enforced the stress of education is mostly on rote learning. It is essential that teachers at the primary level should be well educated and education is integrated with the life of the people. In 1968, the national policy on education aimed at promoting a rational progressive sense of common citizenship and culture so as to strengthen integration. Attention was drawn to science and technology, the cultivation of moral values and a closer relationship between education and the life of the people. This led to an establishment of schools at all levels in the country especially in the rural areas. It also introduced the 10+2+3 system in which work experience was an essential component. There was a restructuring of the undergraduate courses and an attempt to improve the quality of education. Unfortunately, all this did not transfer itself into a strategy of implementation and the problems of finances and access to quality education remained. In 1976, education was brought into the concurrent list.

The National Policy on Education in 1986: It provided for an environment to create awareness of science and technology, stressed womens education and the education of the dis- advantage section of the society. The Sarva Shikshan Abhyaan was launched to enhance enrollment in schools. Traditional subjects like yoga were brought into the purview of secondary education and vocational training was emphasized. The goal was to bring about social change in the country. New texts were published, funds were increased for secondary education, there was an expansion of new schools and syllabus was restructured in tune with the social framework of each State. There was networking among different institutions for research and development. Education was to be equally accessible for all and hence there was an emphasis on adult literacy and distance education. Technical institutions of very high standards came up. However, university education still remains in a state of despair. There are cases of fake degrees and commercialization of education at a higher level. However, this education is confined to only 10% of the student population. The NCERT (National Council for Education and research Training) is the apex body to frame the curriculums and provide technical support to educational institutions. There s also the UGC (University Ground Commission) which has an important role to give shape to the national system of education and it works with bodies like the Indian Medical Council and IITs. India has the third highest number or higher education institutions but sadly, most universities are politicized. Literacy of women still remains very low in spite of numerous campaigns. Rural education remain poorly funded and under starved. An attempt has been made for increasing the expenditure for the development of education. Education which was of directive principle has now become a fundamental right under article 45 & 46 in 2002. However, the priority given to education in government policy remains low while in fact the ultimate aim of the education policy should be to transform education into a powerful instrument of qualitative and quantitative social change and national development.

TERI- The Energy Research institute is an advisory body where Dr. Pauchari works. It is a government initiative to look at the environment Private Initiatives have been the CSE working in the areas of air pollution, pesticides, water and colas. It is also working on the green rating for industries such as

automobile, paper, cement. A recent environmental impact has been the cancellation of coal mining but the Adani group.

PROJECT TIGER Project Tiger is a wildlife conservation movement initiated in India in 1972 to protect the Bengal Tiger. The project aims at conserving tigers in specially constituted tiger reserves representatives of various bio geographical regions throughout India. There are more than 40 Project Tiger Reserves in India and according to the 2008 census; the tiger population has dropped to 1411. At the turn of 19th century the figure was 45,000. The project was launched in 1973 in the Corbett National Park. Global organizations like the WWF have contributed to the funding of this project. Unfortunately many of the field doctors misuse the funds and manipulated

the tigers census numbers. Activists and environmentalists like Valmiki Thakur and Velinda Wright have demanded that the Prime Minister establishes an independent census to determine the actual number of tigers in India. When Indira Gandhi was the PM, this project achieved the following:
1. A recovery of the habitat for the tiger population and a consequent

increase in the tiger population.

2. Since tigers were an important indicator of the entire eco system all

other wild animals have increased their population. It is unfortunate that poachers are killing these wild animals. Today wildlife protection requires a state of the art information network and communication technology. There is also need for awareness among the people and the modification of the land use policy through regional planning.

VAN PANCHAYATS: (Communal Forests in India) Communal forests in India are typically administered by a locally elected body which is known as the VAN PANCHAYAT. Legislations pertaining to such Van Panchayats varies from state to state. But the state government retains the right over matters such as staff appointments and penalization of offenders. After independence, the government of India instituted the national forest policy which classifies forest in areas into protected, national, village and common. A direct outcome of this was the empowering and involvement of local communities in the protection and development of forests. Pilot projects were started as early as 1971 in West Bengal. As of September 2003, all 28 state governments had initiated the joint forest management programme and many passed appropriate legislation. Van Panchayats have maintained and guarded Uttarakhands forests efficiently and continued to play a crucial role in protecting a States natural resources. They prevent encroachments, forest spyers, elicit cutting, smuggling of forest produce, poaching of wild animals and regulate grazing. The

importance of this programme is evident in that they have raised about 1.58 million hectares of plantations in the country and are also able to meet the needs of the villagers for fodder and fuel. Most of these Panchayats however, have failed to ensure the participation of women in the committees. Most of the women are satisfied in growing trees in their home stead to meet the families immediate needs. However, it is necessary that women who are regular visitors to the forest should have more say in the village committees and play a more positive role so that the participation development process can be implemented.

AN INTRODUCTION TO MAHARASHTRA ECONOMY CHIEF AGRICULTURAL PLATFORMS Maharashtra as compared to other states is one of the top economic performers with respect to the per capita income. However, this fact conceals the enormous urban rural contrast and regional disparities. Agriculture emerges as the key sector in the state especially with reference to the workforce (55% are engaged in agriculture). Over the years agricultures contribution to income has rapidly declined but the work force continues to perpetuate indicating limited employment opportunities in other sectors. In other words, Maharashtras economy is predominantly agrarian and barring a few districts namely Mumbai, Pune, Thane and Nagpur. A major portion of the workforce is predominantly dependent on agriculture for its livelihood and the incidence of poverty is highest amongst the agricultural labourers. Agriculture in Maharashtra is heavily dependent on the monsoons and hardly 15% of the gross cropped area is irrigated and 24% is drought prone. Maharashtra introduced some land reforms after 1947 and TENNANCY ACTS were amended from time to time. Consequently some tenants become the owners of the part of the land.

The small and marginal farmers however, had very small land holdings. Agriculture in Maharashtra is dominated by food grains mainly Jawar. This crop is characterized by a low yield and almost entirely unirrigated. There has been a decline in the growth of cereals while the area under pulses has increased. Most notably there has been a shift towards commercial crops such a soil seeds, cotton and sugar cane. This has been mainly due to the government policy which assures prices for sugarcane and cotton. For this reason, Maharashtra contributes only 5.8% of the food grain production in the country. With respect to the non food grains with the exception of sugarcane, Maharashtra has lower yields than the national average. This is mainly due to lack of irrigation facilities and other inputs like improved seeds, fertilizers, machinery and so on. So far as the growth rate of sugarcane is concerned, it is negative because this crop is entirely irrigated and requires a lot of water. Major institutional finance is being given to farming through commercial banks and credit cooperatives but due to the adverse environment and unfavourable government policy loan advances have shown bad debts. Besides low value crops, land degradation is a major problem and the excessive withdrawal of ground water for wells has led to water scarcity. Attempts have been made by the government to reformulate policies and create a suitable environment through land reforms. The private sector is being encouraged to participate and invest in agriculture/farms. It is necessary to generate supplementary employment for farmers since agriculture is a seasonal occupation. Maharashtra is diversifying into horticulture (growing fruits and vegetable), animal husbandry, fisheries, and sericulture (growing Mulbury tress, silkworm). These are accepted to give the farmers other options to make a living. In Maharashtra, most agricultural commodities are traded in regulated markets. But selected crops like cotton and sugarcane are marketed through state intervention. The government of Maharashtra has been a strong advocate of cooperative marketing of agricultural produce. India is a land of cooperatives mainly as a result of trying to solve problems at the grass root level and aiming to eliminate the ills of the public and private sector business enterprises. The ILO defines cooperation as an association of persons usually of limited means who have voluntarily joined together to achieve a common end through the formation of democratically control through the formation of democratically control business organization making equitable contribution to the capital required and accepting a fair share of the risks and benefits of the undertaking. The objectives are to

arrest monopolistic control through self help and mutual help and transfer peoples lives. In every nation, cooperatives have played an active role in empowering people of the rural areas. In India, the government has emphasized the cooperative sector right from the first five year plan. The modern day cooperative movement is build on voluntary cooperation where individuals make a deliberate choice. Even the British rulers promoted the cooperative movement but it really developed in stages in the latter half of the 20 th century. The cooperative movement in Maharashtra has a long history and from 1960-1995 there was a rapid increase and their membership. Maharashtra has been a pioneering state with respect to setting up cooperative sugar factories. The first sugar factory was set up in 1951 and it was called the Pravarna Cooperative Society in Ahmednagar district by Padmashri Vikhe Patil. It was very successful and he was held by some on the leading economists of that time. There after the State Government has been giving direct loans to enable the CFS (Cooperative Sugar Factories) to complete their factories. They are located mainly in Western Maharashtra where irrigation facilities and other complementary inputs are available. These sugar cooperatives have held to transform the rural areas but sugarcane being a high water consuming crop is pressurizing the scarce resources of the State and affecting water supply for other crops. Unfortunately the sugar cooperative movement has put a fiscal burden on the government as there are many outstanding loans. There is also political interference, corruption and mismanagement. Sugarcane factories emit a lot of pollution. And we dont have the mechanism to tackle that pollution.

COTTON COOPERATIVES: 36% of the area in the country is under cotton and Maharashtras contribution is 20%. All private trading is prohibited and the farmer is forced to sell to a government agency which gives a guaranteed price. However, the losses of such cooperatives have been increasing over the years for various reasons such as seasonal harvesting transport, labour problems and many of the cotton cooperatives are now SICK. The Indian Dairy industry has been marked by seasonal fluctuations and the dairy farmers were over the years exploited by middlemen who gave them unremunerative prices. Initially dairy development meant setting up modest

size processing plants in cities and small towns. Incidentally, Maharashtra is the second largest producer of the cows milk in India and in 1958 the diary development department was set up to encourage formation of milk cooperatives. Earlier, in 1951 under the enlighten tutelage of Dr. Varghese Kurian the farmers of Kaira district in Gujarat had formed a cooperative with the right to correct and sell milk directly to the government and they were paid according to the quality of milk. This was the beginning of AMUL which is the first recorded cooperative in the diary sector in the world. Amul today has registered a manifold integrated growth with a large range of products and services. It was very well managed with the direct access to the Mumbai market. When Lal Bahadur Shashtri visited Anand in 1964, he wanted to replicate the Amul model all over the country. The government set up a body called the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) in 1965 under Dr. Kurian. It was meant to be a technical consultancy body however; many states did not show an interest including Maharashtra because the diary industry was already set up. Sadly, most of the diary cooperatives in Maharashtra are highly politicized and a suggestion has been made to privatize the industry. Eg. Mahananda. Maharashtra is the only state where the government fixes the procurement price of the milk.

OPERATION FLOOD By 1968, the NDDB had formulated a program to use funds from the state government to redevelop the diary industry according to the Anand model. The first phase lasted for 11 years in the 1970s when funds were obtained from the sale of the World Food Program commodities. The aim was to capture the market for public diaries in the four metros. The investment would be Rs.2000 crores. And the rural urban linkage would be established and modernization of the diary industry would be started. By March 1978, there were 75,000 dairy cooperative societies helping in marketing and branding. This has been a most successful movement and has often been referred to as the WHITE REVOLUTION. It is seen as an instrumental of social justice as the entire supply chain was in the hands of the cooperative. PHASE II: This was financed by the World Bank in 1979 and covered all the major sheds in the country. PHASE III: It was launched in 1986 to intend and consolidates the share of the diary market. Some of its objectives were:

1. To provide wholesome milk at reasonable prices to city consumers

especially vulnerable groups like children

2. To improve productivity of dairy farming in the rural areas and make

them self sufficient

3. To remove diary cattle from the cities

4. To set-up a self sustaining diary industry to improve the lives of the small farmers Operation flood involves an integrated approach towards milk production at the village and primary level. The milk supply is processed at the District level and marketed at the State level. Attention is given to various aspects such as animal husbandry and health of the cattle. Operation Flood has invited international attention as well as controversy. Some feel it has not touched the poorest farmers although it has benefitted in terms of economic rationality. Today, India has become the largest producer of milk and dairy products in the world. In this era of liberalization, there is a vast potential for export and new challenges in tune with international standards need to be met in the near future.

INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT IN MAHARASHTRA Maharashtra may be divided into four major regions: Western Maharashtra, Konkan, Vidharbha and Marathwada. Each of these regions is divided into districts and talukas for administrative convenience. Maharashtra has resources of agriculture, minerals, forests, fisheries, water and animals. Infrastructure facilities are available in the form of transport, technical education, state corporations, financial institutions and entrepreneurs. Maharsthra has the largest number of industrial clusters. Although Maharashtra has been one of the leading industrial states there are intra state disparities. Vidharbha and Marathvada are comparatively backward and hence during the second five year plan efforts were made for a balance regional development. However, since all the regions are not equally endowed this has not been possible. The potential of each region needs to be exploited and for this further concentration of industry must be stopped in Mumbai, Thane and Pune. At the state level, various institutions have been set up to induce industrial development in the less developed areas. MIDC (Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation) CIDCO MSSIDC MTDC SICOM MSKVIB

Financial institutions like the LIC are also helping industries and the new industrial policy of the government is to help the industries to get located away from Mumbai city. For this purpose, licenses are being given freely to attract more investments in the industrial sector so that Maharashtra can enter the competitive market. In recent years, there has been remarkable industrial development in Nashik district and there are industrial estates in Solapur and Kolhapur. Pune has 10.2% of the industries and a unique first of its kind feature. Nagpur has a diversified industrial sector but the rest of

Vidhrbha is backward. Likewise, except for Auragangabad in Marathwada all other districts are backward. The progress of small scale industries have increased everywhere except in Mumbai between 1961-1987 because of the favorable policy of the government to correct the imbalances. A number of initiates have been taken up to encourage small and medium entrepreneurs and IT parks. Biotechnology parks have been established in Jalna and Hinjewadi. The pharmaceuticals sector and the research and exports have shown a steady growth with readymade garments, plastic products, gems, etc. SEBI have been establishment to protect and regulate industrial activities and there are mutual Funds that attract the investors. On the negative side, major hurdles has been sick industries and pollution. A SEZ is a specially demarcated areas of land own and operated by a private developer for the purpose of trade duties and tariffs with the intent of increasing exports. A SEZ is a geographical area deemed to be a foreign territory that has an economic loss that are more liberal than the countries typical economic laws. Usually, the goal is to increase the foreign investment and therefore the nation straight policies like labour laws, taxes, etc are lapsed. To enable the companies settle there, to compete with low cost producers world-wide. One of the earliest SEZ was in China in 1980 and then other countries like Iran, Russia, Pakistan and India followed. SEZs are artificial small pockets that are linked more with the global economy than the national economy. They are free market economies and help the government to make economic gains and avoid economic collapse. The slogan is liberalize, privatize and globalize. The policy of SEZ in India was introduced on 1st April with a view to provide internationally competitive and hassle free environment for exports and make the domestic enterprises globally competitive. In June 2005, the Indian government passed an act to legalize the creation of numerous SEZs which had access to advantages like the workforce, supply base, simplified exports procedures and more domestic duties. Even companies which supply their materials/goods to the SEZ units enjoy all the benefits. However, the SEZ units could not supply their goods in the local market as this would attract duties. The sole purpose of SEZ is to earn foreign exchange through export and in the midst of globalization. India is a popular destination for displacement of people and land acquisition. Eg: Nandigram. The first land acquisition act was passed in 1894 when the British justified land for public purpose commerce. Compensation was restricted to ownership of documents and paid in cash. This resulted in landlers and displaced owners. In 1986, the land acquisition act tried to address the concerns by precisely defining the term public purpose. The forest dwellers had to claim compensation within 60 days.

Hence, this amendment was only a cosmetic change and undemocratic. The right of the tribals to common property was ignored and their land was ceased from them. The vast majority of rural and tribal dwellers are not eligible for rehabilitation or compensation and there is no alternative regarding employment or land. The government usually does not return the unutilized acquired land. SEZ has been opposed on socio- economic grounds by various citizens groups. A resettlement and rehabilitation bill was passed in parliament in 2007 to care of the effected families who have been involuntarily displaced. Most of them included the families of the schedule caste and the schedule tribes. Unfortunately this bill has made it possible for the government to have absolute power to acquire land without the consent of the people who occupy it. This struggle against SEZ is turning into a bigger struggle against state oppression through dispossession and marginalization.

TEXTILE INDUSTRY IN MAHARASHTRA The textile industry has gone through various phases each one characterized by the social, cultural, economic and political conditions in the country. The history of cotton and textile production goes back to the East Indian company days. The first textile mills came up in Mumbai between 1850-1864

and used modern technology. They were land with care and were a profit making venture as they were labour incentive and paid the workers low wages. The Bombay Mill Owners associations were set up in 1875 and was meant to be an instrument of self protection. After 1947, the government of India undertook a massive industrialization program and textiles were comparatively neglected. With the advent of mechanization, the government decentralized the power loom sector and gave preference to cooperatives in textiles. Some of the mills adopted new technology and provided branded cloth for the upper classes. The old mills did not modernize and had a low level of productivity. Their mill owners prefer to transfer much of their capital to other activities. Consequently, their textile mills became sick and declared themselves bankrupt. They were taken over by the NTC (National Textile Corporation). Much of the technology which was imported for manufacture of textiles was adopted by those mills that came up with a superior product. In the 1960s when foreign resources fell and import licenses were cut, cotton prices rose and this affected developments in the textiles industry. In fact the overall trends in the Indian industry are reflected in Bombays textiles mills. Modernization increased the workload and the accent was on increased productivity. This laid open the ground for retrenchment and had a direct bearing on the nature of labour consciousness and organization.

The working class movement in India is a response to the challenge thrown by the modern factory system of production which brought about unfair labour practices like low wages, long hours of work, child labour etc. The British after 1875 passes some social reforms and laws to improve the conditions of the labourers. However, the trade union movement in India only started after World War I with the establishment of the communist party in Russia. A distinction between a labour movement which is for labour and a trade union movement which is by labour. The All India Trade Union Congress (ANTUC) was formed by the communist party of India in 1920. After world war I prices have risen and so have the profits but the wages were still

low. There was economic and political unrest in the country and this resulted in strikes in the textile mills on Mumbai, Kolkata, Solapur and Chennai. The approach of the communist led trade unions was militant and they were successful in getting some of their demands met. The trade union movement has been organized along political lines and every political party as a trade union. The Congress party formed the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC). There were also some radical labour wings United Trade Union Congress (UTUC), The Hind Majdoor Sabha (HMS). The concept of a minimum wage was introduce through an award and Allowance (DA) was linked to prices. This concept was first introduced in the textile mills but the wage increase was meager. And there was no systematic revision of the wage structure. The Bombay Mill Majdoor Sangh was not able to do much for the workers and the Girni Kamgar Union was influenced by the communists. The workers had many grievances. Due to automation the work load had increased and this led to work strain and a high rate of absenteeism and due to cotton dust inhalation, bronchial problems were common exposure to noise led to hearing loss and there was a high rate of accidents. There was also another grievance namely the Badli System under which almost 47% workers who had worked for two years were not made permanent. The origins of independent unionism in the Bombay Mill industry were embedded in the dynamics of the struggle by the workers and the technological transformation within the industry. The distinguishing feature of the Mumbai Textile worker was their migrant character. They continued to have ties with their village and many of them come from the southern district of Satara, Sanghli and Kolhpaur. These districts were dominated by the affluent Marathi peasants while the workers were poor or landless. About 60% of them stayed in Mumbai with their families. Their second generation had received secondary education and was much more confident and assertive. They felt disadvantaged compare dot the industrial workers in the other sectors. The mill owners were making huge profits and therefore these workers were not willing to accept the meager increments. They embraced willingly when he came on the scene. He intervened in the Empire Dying Mills, Diwali bonus issue; there was a 77 day strike and the workers got a raise hence he was succeeded. He was then approached by workers from other mills on the bonus issue and received a massive support from workers in other sectors when he announced a one day strike on January 6th, 1981.

(Datta Samant had been arrested during the emergency and he educated, he culturally transcended sectarian lines. He was known for his unconventional methods which appealed to the new generation of workers. ) The strike was declared illegal by the Government. It completely paralyzed the textile industry, but the Mill owners Association rejected the demands of the workers. He now called for an indefinite strike from 18 th January. The strike represented the culmination of long term structural tendencies in the textile trade union movement as the workers now demanded not just better wages. They wanted a greater voice in the talks at the mill level. Dr. Samant introduced a sustained militancy for workers right and his union MGKU (Mumbai Girini Kamgar Union) Articulated the economic and political demands of the working class. The Bombay Textile Workers strike is a unique landmark in the history of industrial conflict in India and although it failed to achieve its origin and aims it led to serious economic and political repercussions in Maharashtra. Hardships and material deprivations of the labour was immense ad many of them went back to their villages. The strike received support from non textile workers (blue collar workers). The strike became politicized. The BJP, opposition staged a walk out in the State Assembly and the mayor of Bombay in support of the strike staged a dharna. All this expanded Samants political horizon and he travelled to the rural areas and took up the issue of minimum wages for the agricultural workers. He was able to link the urban and the rural poor as he took up issues of corruption. He mobilized the leftist organizations and women to join his rallies against price rise. The National Security Act was used indiscriminately in order to destroy the strike. Datta Samants political party was called Kamgar Aghadi and he was elected to the Lok Sabha.

Farmers Movement in Maharashtra: (Always attempt in exam) The range of peasant movements all over the world covers revolutions on the one hand and sporadic struggles on the other. There have been 6 successful peasant movements all over the world. It is difficult for peasants to unite on a nationwide basis because the peasantry suffers because the peasantry suffers from certain handicaps. They live at a subsistence level and ties of kinship bind the farmers together. They are unaware of the happenings in the rest of the country and for this reason are often excluded from the decision making at the National level.

So far as the Indian farmer is concerned he has always been the underdog: illiterate, malnutrition, technologically backward and fatalistic. During the British rule the farmers were exploited as cheap labour and many became bonded and indebted. During this period there were some spontaneous agrarian struggles but they were treated as a law and order problem. It was only after 1920 under Gandhis leadership that class consciousness emerged among the farmers and many peasants joined the Non co-operation and Quit India Movement. Some well known struggles were launched under the leadership of the Congress. Eg. Champaran under Gandhi, Bardoli in Kheda District led by Vallabbhai Patel. After 1947 there were many uprisings that were more radical and militant. The Communist party of India led these movements for the poor and landless peasants and although these movements succeeded for a short period of time, it did not result in any changes among the agrarian proletariat. A recent peasant movement has been Naxalism which has its roots in the rural and tribal areas but lacks a clear perspective. In the last 20 years or so a tidal wave of farmers protest has been sweeping across the rural areas of Maharashtra. Shetkari Sangathana: It does not put the lifestyle of the peasant on a pedestal as being blissful and simple. It is led by the capitalist farmers who have found a common cause with the poor and middle class farmers. It is not the revolt of the deprived but it is rooted in the process of modernization and shows the farmers disillusionment with the Government. It revolves around the question of incomes, prices and inputs. The farmers base their demand for remunerative prices on the ground that there has been an outflow of funds from the agricultural to the industrial sector. It has thrown up a leadership which has its roots in the soil and is therefore better placed to articulate the interests and aspirations of the farmers. Of sociological significance is the fact that it has cut across caste lines and shown a surprising degree of militancy against the common urban enemy. The overall philosophy of the Shetkari Sangathana is that price incentives in agriculture and a natural process of capital accumulation can benefit the entire economy and break the vicious circle of poverty. In 1982, Jan , SS held its first conference in Nasik district and attracted over 1 lakh farmers. Joshi stated that Indian agriculture was based on negative subsidies and anti farmer policies and this caused income disparities between the agricultural and non agricultural sector. The dumping of agricultural produce form abroad into the domestic market denies the farmer access to the latest

technology. Though the regional base of the SS is limited it has been able to force a debate on development as its main focus. It is a well organized movement and more widespread in the agricultural advanced regions of Maharashtra and with other similar movements in the other parts of the country it signals the birth of a new rural chapter in Indian politics. Shoshit Shetkari Kashtkari Kamgar Mukti Sangharsh ( SSKKMS or Mukti Sangharsh): The Mukti Sangharsh organized small and medium peasants and the displaced industrial workers in the early 1980s in Sangli district which was affected by drought in 1982. There were scarcity conditions due to uncertain rainfall, poor soil and small holdings. One of the leaders was Bharat Patankar who with his wife Gail Omved and mother Indutai mobilized the peasants and workers under the employment guarantee scheme act of 1978. Morchas and Dharnas were organized to create an awareness regarding their rights. The demand was that the EGS be used comprehensively for the people to bring about sustainable agricultural development. An unusual feature of this movement was that almost half of its participants and many leaders were women. It addressed gender inequalities in division of labour and raised issues of corruption in the sugar cooperatives and exploitation of Dalits. The MS stated that stone breaking and road building did not lead to growth and a demand was made for a regional plan to construct small dams and tanks to solve the water problem. The MS linked environmental sustainability with public participation. It started a Stri Mukti Sangharsh in 1985 to develop feminist consciousness and involve male activists. This gave women access to land and political power. In fact this movement did not have a single focus but was committed to multiple struggles for economic and social justice. It incorporated concrete material targets and broad ideological goals through direct action and political activism.

Public acccountablity It ranges from parliamentary accountability ( Question hour by the Opposition), beaureacratic accountability (honest and efficient administration), judicial accountability (unbiased, and autonomous judges), financial accountability ( Govt. is accountable fro every rupee it spends. The responsibility of the Govt. is to explain its actions to the people and provide avenues for public debate. This

implies good governance, freedom of information, a strong legal system and political mobilization of the disadvantaged sections. Today major changes are taking place in the state and civil society and an efficient administration is seen as a pre requisite for good governance. It includes honoring international treaties and commitments and popularizing citizen participation at the grassroot level. People pay taxes and they have every right to know how, why and where the money is spent. The judiciary has the right to question the Govt. on the laws that are passed and it must take stringent action against people who violate the laws. The system must be cleaned of corruption and the role of the NGOs and the media is crucial. There is also the vigilance commission which must conduct inquiries and frame persons who are a threat to society. Unfortunately bureaucrats are appointed by the politicians and therefore they may act in a self interested manner. This reduces accountability and gives rise to corruption. This is evident by the various camps that have taken place in recent years leading to misappropriation of funds. Accountability of the Govt. can be enhanced by beaureacratic reforms, political decentralization , empowerment of citizens. What we need is not less Govt. but a different kind of Govt. in the words of Amartya Sen. The buzz word is transparency in all actions, at all levels and building horizontal links through regulatory bodies so that the popular voice is heard in decision making. Corporate: today globalization has opened the windows for change in the country. Many MNCs are investing in the country but the investment is also in human capital and therefore they must be responsible in the deeds and actions so that the interest of the ordinary citizen are not jeopardized.