The recent announcement of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) government's proposal to divide Uttar Pradesh into four smaller States the proposed new States – Paschim Pradesh, Bundelkhand, Poorvanchal and Awadh Pradesh to end the crippling regional disparities in the country's most populous State.
CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISION RELATING TO CREATION OF A STATE:
Under Article 3 of the Indian constitution, Parliament may by law (a) form a new State by separation of territory from any State or by uniting two or more States or parts of States or by uniting any territory to a part of any State; (b) increase the area of any State; (c) diminish the area of any State; (d) alter the boundaries of any State; or (e) alter the name of any State.
New states U/A 3 of the constitution can only be formed by introducing a bill with prior consent of the president of india.the parliament refers the bill for formation of a new state to the state legislative assembly for its views on the matter within a stipulated period of time.the bill then is reverted to the parliament for creation of the state, which can be achieved through a simple majority.the views of the state are not binding on the parliament.If the State legislature fails to express its views within the stipulated time, Parliament is free to proceed with the matter. The word ‘State' under Article 3 includes the Union Territories, too, whereas under the proviso, Union Territories have been excluded from the definition of States because Parliament itself legislates for U.Ts.thus Parliament can pass the law to reorganize either reorganise States or create new states with a simple majority.
Parliament has so far passed 20 laws under Article 3 to reorganise various States. The last Act to be enacted under this provision is the Madhya Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2000. (The Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh Reorganisation Acts, 2000, preceded this.)
On close observation the union governments over the years have evolved a broad pattern of guidelines while considering demands for the creation of new States.These are:
(a) Demand for a state shouldn’t be based on a secessionist motive;
(b) Demands based on language and culture could be accommodated, but not those based explicitly on religious differences;
(c) Demands must have clearly demonstrated public support; and
(d) Division of multilingual States must have some support from different linguistic groups.
(e) If the demand is driven by the specific needs of the political economy of development, then it qualifies for due consideration by the Centre.
While the BSP’s move fulfills the criteria (a), (b) & (e), it doesn’t fulfill (c) & (d).the very nature and timing(a year before the forthcoming assembly elections) of the move to consider creating four new states evokes suspicion. There has not been any demand from the people of the state for dividing the state. It was orchestrated by the BSP unilaterally.opposition parties such as SP,RLD & BJP in U.P allege that this bolt from the blue is a move by the BSP’s top brass to divert people’s attention from a spate of scams which caused embarresment to the government (the embezzlement of public funds in the NRHM(National rural health mission) & MGNREGS(mahatmagandhi national rural employment guarantee scheme).they opine that the BSP deliberately cooked up the issue of statehood to shift the focus of the people which is currently focused on widespread discrepancies in maintainance of law & order & inability to check corruption.
Are smaller states better?
THE CASE OF UTTARAKHAND:how it has fared since its inception
1. As per statistics, uttarkhand has more than trebled its percapita income which is higher than the national percapita income .The State launched has been among the top three States recording the highest growth rate in the past few years.
2.due to high industrial investments & a10-year concessional industrial package granted to the State in 2003 by the Union government, which included a tax holiday and capital investment subsidy , there has been a phenomenal increase in employment.
3.Uttarakhand has been able to develop into a prominent tourism hub. In the past decade, Uttarakhand also emerged as a centre for higher education. Universities imparting specialised professional education, such as the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, which is the only one of its kind in Asia have been established.
THE CASE OF CHHATTISGARH:
1. Chhattisgarh has managed to achieve a high growth rate owing to its immense mineral and natural resources. The State posted the highest economic growth rate of 11.49 per cent among all Indian States
2. in terms of social indicators, chattisgarh has shown cconsiderable improvement since its inception. Its literacy rate of 71.04 per cent is close to the national figure of 74.04 per cent. Its sex ratio(991) is much better than the national average of 940.
3. The State, which harnessed its massive coal reserves to generate power, has a per capita energy consumption of 1,547 units as against the 779 units at the national level. It is an energy surplus State today, which was not the case when it was part of Madhya Pradesh.
4.The State has managed to maintain an average growth rate of 10.05 per cent for the past six years, which is the highest for any State in India. The State ranks first in industrial investment in the country, with $63 billion in 2010.
5. The downside: But the growth story has a number of contradictions. While mining and mining-based industries, specifically steel and power, have helped push up the State's gross domestic product, there has been little qualitative improvement in people's lives. The percapita income of the state is still at Rs.33,952 compared to the national average, of Rs.54,835. 10 out of its 18 districts are affected by left-wing extremism, more than 40 per cent of its population is below the poverty line, and over 75 per cent of its population can be categorized as small and marginal farmers.
6. The State has done well in the agricultural sector too. It is a major rice-producing State, the second largest in India in terms of procurement. The e-procurement policy of the Chhattisgarh govt has ensured transparency in procurement of food grains without delay & also eliminated middle men. The State has received accolades for putting in place an effective public distribution system (PDS) as well. It has fair price shops, in place in each gram panchayat. The State has ensured that by the 1st week of every month, commodities are supplied to fair price shops. Steps have been taken to prevent pilferage.
7. Although it has some bad social indicators – in terms of high prevalence of malnutrion, anaemic pregnant women as compared to the national average, the State has managed to reduce the infant mortality rate through increasing institutional deliveries.
8. Governance at the doorstep: The small size of the State has ensured that governance reaches the doorsteps of its people. For 10 days every year, all government officials, from patwaris to secretaries and even Ministers (sometimes even the Chief Minister), visit the villages to clear all the pending applications and cases. Direct feedback is taken from the villages and new schemes are formulated on the basis of the feedback.
THE CASE OF JHARKHAND:
1. In its 11 years of existence, Jharkhand has essentially been perceived as an archetype of political instability and corruption. In this period, it saw eight Chief Ministers and numerous corruption cases against its political leadership. Political instability & corruption have pushed development to the backburner.
2. A study pointed out that the State had failed to add a single megawatt to its power generation, despite the signing of many memorandums of understanding with private firms. When Jharkhand was formed, it had three State-owned power plants. In 10 years, the State has not added another to it.
3. Among the three States formed in 2000, Jharkhand has the second highest percentage of population below the poverty line (BPL). the State fares badly in terms of basic parameters such as health and nutrition.
4. There has been some improvement in higher education after the State got a Central university and an Indian Institute of Management in Ranchi. But these have failed to stop the migration of students. On an average, more than 1,00,000 students migrate from the State for degree and professional courses.
5. The study also says that lack of development in far-flung areas has allowed Maoists to gain traction in Jharkhand. Clearly, Jharkhand's record is one that does not uphold the theory that small States are more effective.
‘Small is manageable'
Proponents in favour of small states argue that they are more manageable, better governable, more efficient and more sensitive to people's aspirations and ambitions.
My view: The criterion for creation of new states should be based on administrative feasibility rather than being dictated solely on political compulsions or on regional demand. Division of a state also implies division of resources. Different regions of a state cater to development in different sectors for e.g.: in andhrapradesh, the telengana region has the lion’s share of industrial infrastructure but depends upon coastal Andhra to meet its agricultural needs & on rayalaseema for its mineral resources. If states are created without factoring in such inter-dependence of various regions for its development, then such a move would be counterproductive. Similarly, division of U.P could lead to multiple conflicts on sharing of resources, including water and electricity between the regions.
Further, division of a State is not the only method to overcome imbalanced development in a state. Efforts to correct imbalances through focused regional development to address the problems plaguing the region & improve the quality of life on par with the other developed regions of the state should be resorted to. The move to carve out 4 new states out of U.P has been on the basis of increasing political footprint of a regional party, in order to gain a foothold in national politics.
What will be the outcome of such a move?
The announcement is bound to accentuate the emotive element in the Telangana movement. Further it could spur long-standing demands for statehood which include the demands for Vidarbha, Gorkhaland and Bodoland.
