Industrial Area and Regional Resources

It is a research work x-raying the Industrial dispersal policy of an industrially developed state in India viz. maharashtra and a micro-level empirical investigation of industrial units on the development of linkages with the regional resources, indeed a thought-provoking work on an unexplored dimension of industrial development planning and utilization of regional resources. The study enquires whether Government of Maharashtra have succeeded in decentralizing industrialization from congested areas during the post-1960 period and to what extent planned efforts have been made to systematically develop industries in backward regions on the basis of agro, forest and other regional resources. The present work is the result of a micro-level study of Nagpur Industrial Area conducted mainly from the point of view of the development of linkages. The MIDC (Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation) initially started planning the industrialization process but gradually diluted its concepts/policies and converted itself into a provider merely of the infrastructural facility. As a result, even after 25years of existence of the Industrial Area at Nagpur, it does not seem that a climate for industrialization has been generated. It appeared that the sample units did not generate significant linkages in the region. It has been alleged that the MIDC which spends public money with the declared objective of initiation and dispersal of the concentrated industry to backward regions has no discretion and no power to think about the types of resources available in various regions of the State. What is therefore suggested by the authors is the creation of the District Planning Authority and Regional Planning Authority and Regional Planning Authority working under the state-level planning Authority. The study brings out the fact that the spread of industrialization does not benefit the people much in the rural areas. If they are not developed into a trained labour force ready for getting associated with the new industry of processing their own agricultural of forest resources, these people will simply be viewed as on lookers of the development process.