Jharkhand (JH) Infographics

Jharkhand: Climbing on the Development Bandwagon

Initially a part of Bihar, Jharkhand became a state on 15th November 2000. The movement for a separate state began some 50 years back, where the people of Jharkhand – mainly adivasis and non-adivasis - fought for development and upgradation of the socio-economic conditions in that area. Finally, the relatively underdeveloped southern part of Bihar managed to get an identity of its own and went on to become the 28^th state of India.

The government of Jharkhand is unicameral in nature. The Legislative Assembly or the Vidhan Sabha consists of 81 members who are elected from single state constituencies. The state has many national and regional political players – the main ones being Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM). The other parties that have influential presence are the Indian National Congress (INC), Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (JVM), All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Janata Dal (U), Communist Party of India (M), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), etc.  At the Centre, Jharkhand sends 14 members to Lok Sabha and 6 members to Rajya Sabha.
Naxalism in Jharkhand
Jharkhand is known for Maoist-Naxalite insurgency. The reason behind Naxal uprising is attributed to people living in abject poverty despite having abundance of natural resources. The local tribals are believed to have been prevented from claiming any stake in the resources extractions, which has led them to live in abject poverty. The insurgents claim they are fighting for the rights and welfare of these deprived people.

Chief Ministers in Jharkhand

In a span of 14 years, the state has seen the seat of Chief Ministership changing hands many times .
Name: Hemant Soren
Party: Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)
Tenure: 2013 till now
Profile
Son of former Chief Minister and JMM founder Shibu Soren, Hemant is the youngest Chief Minister of the state. He was a member of the Rajya Sabha from 2009 to 2010. Subsequently, he served as a Cabinet Minister in the state. He also served as the Deputy Chief Minister in the Arjun Munda ministry. In 2013, he was sworn in as the Chief Minister with support from Congress and RJD after President’s rule was revoked.

Developments
Hemant Soren is believed to have proposed several initiatives for the development of various sections of the society, especially the backward, deprived tribal areas, dalits and the minority communities.  His government has given jobs to prominent sportspersons hailing from the state and has promised more such jobs in the future. Soren has a vision of setting up 100 agriculture tool banks by the end of the fiscal year and has also urged the industries set up in the state to provide employment to locals. He has also proposed a Government Helpline for women to deal with the various atrocities that they face.

Brickbats
Hemant Soren’s government has been accused of illegal mining and an alleged nexus between mafia, politicians and bureaucrats.

Name: Babu Lal Marandi
Party: Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (JVM)
Tenure: 2000-2003
Profile
Babu Lal Marandi was the first Chief Minister of Jharkhand.  He was a teacher by profession. His political career began when he joined the Vishva Hindu Parisad in Jharkhand as the organising secretary. He was given a ticket from the Dumka constituency in 1991, but he lost the elections. In 1996 too he lost the elections. By then, he had become the president of BJP’s Jharkhand unit and it was under his leadership that the party won 12 out of 14 Lok Sabha seats in the 1998 elections. In 2000, Marandi went on to become the Chief Minister of Jharkhand. However, his tenure did not last long as, under pressure from the NDA allies, he had to make way for Arjun Munda. Later, in 2006 he formed his own party called Jharkhand Vikas Morcha.

Developments
Marandi is believed to have initiated several developmental projects in the state like building and strengthening the road network, among others. With a view to reduce crowding in the city, he had even proposed the idea of Greater Ranchi.

Brickbats
Even as Marandi seems not to be involved in any unethical activity, he is said to have made a “deemed appeal” to pastors and bishops to support him in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections. He was let-off by the Election Commission with a warning.

Name: Arjun Munda
Party: BJP
Tenure: 2003-2005; 2005-2006; 2010-2013
Arjun Munda was the second Chief Minister of Jharkhand. He has been in and out of the Chief Minister’s office and has been succeeded by the current chief Minister Hemant Soren. Munda began his political career as a teenager by joining the JMM movement that sought for a separate state for the tribals. He then went on to become a member of the Bihar Legislative Assembly. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) strongly supported the Jharkhand case and promised to grant statehood if they were elected to power. Munda was very impressed with BJP’s ideologies that he decided to join the party and got elected again to the Bihar Assembly through the BJP ticket. When Jharkhand was formed, he went on to become the Tribal Welfare Minister in the Babulal Marandi-led NDA coalition government in Jharkhand. His work towards the people’s cause raised his popularity and he soon went on to become the Chief Minister of the state in 2003 at a very young age of 35.

Developments
During Munda’s regime, Jharkhand got its first Lokayukta (anti-corruption ombudsman) and participated in Panchayat elections. The state successfully held the 34th National Games in 2011. With a view to bring transparency and increase efficiency, his government introduced the e-tender system for government contracts. He was also responsible for introducing welfare schemes and setting up new power plants.

   Brickbats
The Opposition parties have accused Munda of being involved in a string of scams, especially in giving away projects to companies without following the proper procedure of passing tenders. He is also accused of granting special favours to the Abhijeet Group through which the coal-scam-tainted company was able to set up a 25 million tonne per annum integrated steel plant at Kharsawa-Saraikela district of Jharkhand.

Economy of Jharkhand

The average gross state domestic product (GSDP) of the state has grown by 9.4 percent in the years between 2004-05 and 2011-12. As per the Economic Survey of Jharkhand 2013-14 released in February this year, the GSDP is expected to reach Rs 188,225 crore at the current prices and Rs 113,127 crore at constant prices in 2013-14. In 2014-15, the GSDP is expected to reach Rs 218,251 crore at the current prices and Rs 123,885 crore at constant prices, respectively.

The services or the tertiary sector, which grew at 11.37 percent between 2004-05 and 2012-13, contributed mainly to the GSDP.  Banking and insurance, and storage and public administration contributed significantly, among the other sectors.

Jharkhand is one of the richest mineral zones in the world and is home to 40 percent of India’s minerals and 30 percent of coal reserves. Under the Industrial policy 2012, Jharkhand offers a wide range of fiscal and policy incentives to industries.  The state’s proximity to Kolkata, Haldia and Paradip ports makes it easy to procure raw materials.

Education

Literacy in the state, though less compared to national average, has increased over a period of time. About 67.3 percent of the people in Jharkhand are literate. The number of male literates amount to 78.45 percent, while the female literates work out to 56.21 percent. Special efforts are being undertaken by the government to improve the literacy levels among the underprivileged sections of the society. Various scholarships have been introduced to support the students belonging to scheduled castes and tribes. The Department of Welfare has also been providing hostel facilities to students staying in remote areas.

Job and employment

Unemployment has been a concern in the state. As per the CSDS-IBN National Tracker Poll conducted in 2014 before the General Elections, unemployment has been one of the top issues among voters. The overall employment has increased marginally over the years, however, the employment in rural areas has declined significantly. The government has been trying to set the situation right. The Jharkhand Industrial Policy 2012 has been formulated with an aim of providing quality employment to people. Apart from this, efforts are on to give a boost to the tourism sector, which has been generating jobs directly or indirectly in the state. Yet, the government has a long way to go.

Airports

There are supposed to be five airports in Jharkhand – Birsa Munda Airport, Chakulia Airport, Deoghar Airstrip, Jamshedpur Airport and Noamundi Airport. In 2013, the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation, under its flagship regional and remote air connectivity policy, had included five cities of Jharkhand - Hazaribagh, Jamshedpur, Bokaro, Dhanbad and Deoghar – for a possible aviation boom.

Road and infrastructure

Jharkhand has very poor road connectivity. As per the national survey on road density, the state has 86.26 km per 1000 sq km against national average of 182.4 km per 1000 sq km. Overall, it has just about 26,277 km of tarmac, out of which about 5,000 km is in poor condition. To improve the situation, the current government has sanctioned new bypasses, city and district roads.

Poverty

Poverty in Jharkhand has reduced by about eight points between the years 2004-05 and 2011-12. As per the Economic Survey of Jharkhand 2013-14, about 37 percent of the people live below poverty line. A UNICEF report cites that about half the children below three years are malnourished and over 3.73 lakh people live in slums.

Health and Sanitation

The infant mortality rate in Jharkhand has reduced from 48 per thousand live births in 2007 to 38 in 2012 – well below the national average of 42 per thousand live births. Similarly, the state has also performed well in reducing maternal mortality ratio to 219 per lakh live births in 2010-12, from 261 per lakh live births in 2007-09. The state is also in the process of developing the public health infrastructure as per the Indian Public Health Services norms and has introduced several programmes to mobilise the community towards health care. Access to safe drinking water is a concern in the entire state as the water contains traces of fluoride, arsenic and iron. Recently in six backward districts, the government has rolled out the Rs 900-crore rural water supply and sanitation project. Besides this, programmes such as Accelerated Rural Water Supply Programme, Swajaldhara and Total Sanitation Campaign have been launched to serve the rural areas with water and sanitation related services.

Women security and social security

As per the National Crime Records Bureau, Jharkhand has seen a sharp rise in the rate of crime against women. The cases have almost doubled in 12 years, from only 2,229 cases in 2001 4,536 cases in 2013. The number of rape cases between January and August 2013 surpassed the number of cases in 2012. The rise in the crime is being attributed to lack of security as more and more women venturing out of the homes for studies and jobs. The government is setting up a panel for women security, besides taking measures like women cops patrolling on two wheelers and pink autos for women.

Crime rate

As per the National Crime Record Bureau report 2012-13, Jharkhand has registered about 45,436 cases, out of which 9,566 were oral complaints and 34,080 were written complaints.
WBMN25.09.2014