KALABURAGI: The High Power Committee for Redressal of Regional Imbalance, which was set up by the Siddaramaiah government on March 16, 2024, under the chairmanship of renowned economist Prof M Govind Rao, started functioning from September because of many reasons, including the Lok Sabha elections. Though CM Siddaramaiah has spoken on several occasion on the constitution of the committee, there was no clear picture on who Prof Govind Rao is, and who are the members of the committee and how it functions.
Prof Govind Rao, younger brother of space scientist UR Rao, and Dr R Vishal, senior IAS officer and member secretary of the committee, spoke to The New Indian Express about the committee and its functioning, and said it is a follow-up to the Dr DM Nanjundappa Committee.
The Prof Govind Rao Committee has been given the brief to assess the development which has taken place following implementation of the Dr Nanjundappa Committee, which had submitted its report in 2002, and implementation of the recommendations began in 2007.
The Nanjundappa report had highlighted the backwardness of various taluks in the State. Of 175 taluks in 2001, the report had identified 35 taluks as backward, 40 taluks as more backward and 39 taluks as most backward. Of the 39 most backward taluks, 21 were in Kalaburagi division, 5 in Belagavi division, 11 in Bengaluru division and two in Mysuru division. Of 40 ‘more backward’ taluks, 5 were in Kalaburagi division, 12 in Belagavi division, 13 in Bengaluru division and 10 in Mysuru division. Of the 40 ‘most backward’ taluks, two were in Kalaburagi division, 14 in Belagavi division, 9 in Bengaluru division and 10 in Mysuru division.
The Nanjundappa Committee had recommended a Special Development Plan to provide separate grants for implementation of the recommendations and to see that these backward taluks should become progressive on par with other developed taluks. It is said that at the time of constituting the Nanjundappa Committee, there were 176 taluks, while the number has increased to 236.
Seventeen years after implementation of the report, the Prof. Govind Rao Committee has been entrusted with the task of ascertaining how many of these 236 taluks are are backward, more backward and most backward as on date.
Questionnaire data
Prof. Rao said the committee has written to the Department of Statistics to provide details on development in each taluk of the State. It has also sent questionnaires to NGOs, universities and colleges in the state, business organisations and industrialists, chief secretary, additional chief secretaries, principal secretaries and secretaries to the government of different departments, elected and official functionaries at the district and taluk levels, asking relevant questions on whether development has taken place or not.
Various Regional Development Boards, including Kalyana Karnataka Region Development Board, Malnad Development Board and Bayaluseeme Development Board have come into existence after the Nanjundappa Committee recommendations were implemented.
Vishal says questions have been asked on these institutions, officers and public representatives to send answers at the earliest. Details will be received by the Department of Statistics, and above mentioned institutions and public representatives would be compiled and a draft prepared on further steps to be taken by the Rao Committee.
Rao said all members of the committee would visit the divisional headquarters and hold meetings with officers, public representatives and different organisations to elicit their opinion. The committee will prepare its report on 35 different indicators and submit its report in September. Efforts would be made not to seek extension of its tenure, Rao said.
The other members of the committee are Vasudev Sedam of Kalaburagi, Prof Bagalkoti of Karnataka University, Dharwad, and MS Suryanarayana. The committee has already held two meetings and will soon take decisions after visiting different places to personally verify development or backwardness.
ON ADVISORY COUNCIL
Prof Rao has a number of advisory roles. He is member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, with the rank of Minister of State. He is member of the Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission and High Level Expert Committee on Universalising Healthcare; member of a High-Level Expert Committee on ‘Efficient management of public expenditure’ and member, advisory group of eminent persons to advise the Finance Minister on G-20 matters.