Natural Resources of Rajasthan - epw.in€¦ · Natural Resources of Rajasthan BESIDES lack of...

N a t u r a l Resources of Rajasthan

BE S I D E S lack o f i r r i g a t i o n , the other l a n d p r o b l e m in Rajas-

t h a n is tha t of uneconomic holdings A l t h o u g h a g r i c u l t u r a l holdings are sufficiently large in the desert areas

a n d this is an unavoidable neces­sity there they become smaller a n d smaller as the fer t i le regions of J a ipu r a n d K o t a h divisions are reached, Frac t iona l i sa t ion of h o l d ­ings i s c o m m o n i n K o t a h a n d J a ipu r divisions.

Even more serious t h a n this is the p r o b l e m of soil erosion w h i c h occurs t h r o u g h o u t Rajas than w i n d erosion in western Rajas than, gu l ly erosion a r o u n d the banks of the C h a m b a l , the Banas a n d other smaller r ivers, a n d sheet erosion in the U d a i p u r , K o t a h a n d Ja ipur divisions. Erosion is aggravated by lack of forests, ind i sc r imina te graz­i n g by goats a n d cows a n d other wasteful methods of c u l t i v a t i o n . I t has become a very serious' p rob­l em today. A b o u t ten years back, the Pr ime M i n i s t e r of the then pr ince ly State o f M e w a r sa id : " I f t i m e l y steps were no t taken to pre­serve the forests, the fa i r fields of U d a i p u r w o u l d in course o f the next generat ion be f o u n d deposited a t the b o t t o m of the Bay of Ben­g a l . " He was no t exaggerat ing by any means. Besides, accord ing to some of the ag r i cu l tu ra l experts, the soils of Rajas than have also been gradua l ly de te r io ra t ing for the last so many years a n d the use of heavy mach ine ry is l ike ly to i m ­poverish the already exhausted soils.

A p a r t f r o m the niggardliness of na ture , among the other factors responsible for the stagnation of agr icu l tu re in Rajas than must be counted the system of l a n d tenure w h i c h has been prevalent i n the past. A b o u t two- th i rds o f the l a n d is non-khalsa, where there was no settlement a n d no f ixed rent . I t is on ly the khalsa lands w h i c h are settled. N o w tha t the Jagir A b o l i t i o n A c t has been pass­ed, things are l ike ly to change b u t the general t r end of the l a n d r e f o r m has been more in the direc­t i o n of the admin is t ra t ive improve ­ments than tha t of f ixat ion of fa i r rents, security of tenure a n d the general ame l io ra t ion of the peasantry. C u r r e n t l y , w h e n the

f o r details regarding recent agra­rian legislation in Rajasthan, sec " Agra­rian Reforms in Rajasthan" by H. C. Saxena in the issue of February 16, 1952-

J. M Joshi (Continued' from the previous issue)

prices' of most a g r i c u l t u r a l p roduce are h i g h , the incidence of l a n d revenue may no t appear to be so heavy for the peasantry. B u t most of the settlement officers in the pr ince ly States of Rajas than h a d been apologetic in the past for f i x ­i n g the assessment at a rate m u c h h igher t h a n tha t p r eva i l i ng i n the then provinces o f Br i t i sh I n d i a . T h e Darbars were no t very pa r t i cu l a r about the problems of r u r a l u p l i f t a n d r u r a l welfare w i t h the result tha t m a n fa i led to use to his o w n advantage w h a t l i t t l e na ture h a d given h i m . T h e most efficient a g r i ­cul turis ts in Rajas than are the Jats w h o inhab i t such a t rac t ( the desert zone) tha t the i r sk i l l c o u l d ha rd ly ava i l against the w h i m s of the r a i n -god. A great po r t i on of l a n d is he ld by Rajputs w h o are the wors t agr icul tur is ts . I n the d iv i s ion o f U d a i p u r the Bhils w h o h o l d m u c h l a n d are no w h i t better t han the aristocratic Rajputs in this respect. T h e M a l i s , Gujars , Bishnois, Meos , etc., are good agricul tur is ts . B u t the i r , methods of c u l t i v a t i o n are t r a d i t i o n a l , implements ou t -moded a n d the general ag r i cu l t u r a l equip­ment poor. T h e livestock is very heal thy in western Rajas than w h i c h is more due to c l imate t h a n to the care and sk i l l of the people to raise i t . T h e defective system of marke t ­i n g of ag r i cu l t u r a l produce deprives the fanner of his legi t imate gains. T h e co-operative movement is s t i l l very backward a n d covers on ly 3.25 per r en t of the ent ire popu la ­t i o n o f Rajas than. T h e h o l d o f the M a h a j a n in r u r a l areas is u n ­disputed, t hough indebtedness varies, surpr is ingly enough, w i t h the f e r t i ­l i t y of the l a n d in most places. Subsidiary occupations and u r b a n arts a n d crafts are e i ther decaying or are very badly organised. T h e G r o w M o r e F o o d campa ign has no t been very successful.

T h e net result of this a g r i c u l t u r a l s tagnation is, as already stated, t h a t Rajas than is deficient in staple f ood -grains to the extent of 50,000 tons a year. T h e popu la t i on has been increasing by leaps a n d bounds since 1931 a n d was estimated at 1,52,97,979 souls at the 1951 Cen­sus. A pecul ia r i ty of the popu la ­t i o n g r o w t h of Rajas than is t ha t the rate has no t been u n i f o r m f r o m decade to decade. In 1881 the t o t a l p o p u l a t i o n o f R a j a s t a n , exclusive of the 1,66,343 Bhi ls only enumera ted by houses, was

1,01,02,049. Since then the p o p u ­l a t i on received a set-back in 1901 and again in 1921, w i t h the result t ha t in the pe r iod 1901-1941 the increase was on ly 7 per cent. As the Census Super in tendent of 1931 observed: ' ' T h e var ia t ions f r o m census to census resemble m i g h t y swings of Nature ' s p e n d u l u m . " W h i l e the great famine of 1899-1900, p o p u l a r l y k n o w n as " Chap -pan ia Kal ", affected the Census of 1901, an epidemic o f plague w h i c h broke ou t jus t before the Census of 1921 left its m a r k on the enumera­t i o n in the la t ter year. T h e net increase, however , since 1881 has s t i l l been 50 per cent. T h e den­sity works ou t at 117 persons per sq. m i l e w h i c h , as compared to most other parts of I n d i a , is very low. Rajasthan is, therefore, more of an under-developed than an over-popula ted State. Efforts should be directed, accordingly , to increas-i n g the ag r i cu l tu ra l and indus t r i a l wea l th of Rajas than, t hough any fur ther increase in the p o p u l a t i o n should be discouraged by a l l means.

I f ag r i cu l tu ra l l y Rajas than i s backward , indus t r i a l ly i t i s an i n fan t State, A l t h o u g h the salt indus t ry h a d developed on m o d e r n lines in the last quar te r of the 19th cen­t u r y , and the cement fac tory a t L a k h e r i started w o r k early in the 20 th century, the real i ndus t r i a l development of Rajas than m a y be said to have commenced on ly dur ­i n g and after the Second W o r l d W a r . Rajas than can n o w boast of a few organised industries, e.g., tex­tiles, sugar, cement, glass, m a t c h , minerals , o i l -mi l l s , small engineer­i n g , marb le a n d chemicals, etc., w h i c h can be greatly developed.

C o m p i l a t i o n o f indus t r i a l statis­tics by the D e p a r t m e n t concerned is s t i l l not complete , nevertheless a b r ie f review of the p r i n c i p a l indus­tries may be a t tempted . At p re ­sent we have 7 co t ton tex t i le m i l l s equ ipped w i t h about 70,000 spindles a n d 1,300 loorns. U n f o r t u n a t e l y o n l y 4 of t h e m have been ac tua l ly w o r k i n g for the last f ew years. In 1949-50 these mi l l s consumed 43,300 bales of co t ton a n d the i r a n n u a l p r o d u c t i o n d u r i n g the years 1947, 1948 a n d 1949 averaged about 15 m i l l i o n yards of c l o t h a n d 7 m i l ­l i o n yards o f ya rn . T h e p r o d u c t i o n was far less t h a n the requirements of the people.

T h e r e are t w o sugar mi l l s w h i c h produce m o r e t h a n 3,000 tons of

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sugar annual ly Besides, there are abou t 15 khandsar i sugar fac tor ies w h i c h also con t r i bu te t he i r quo ta to the t o ta l sugar p r o d u c t i o n o f Ra jas­t h a n .

T h e most famous indus t r i a l establ ishment of Ra jas than is the Associated Cemen t Company 's fac­to ry at L a k h e r i w h i c h is one of the largest i n the who le o f I n d i a . T h e fac to ry was star ted in 1915 a n d is p r o d u c i n g 2,50,000 tons of cement per a n n u m .

T h e sod ium sulph ide fac tory a t J o d h p u r is also an ou ts tand ing indus t r ia l u n i t o f Ra jas than .

Besides these, there are t w o glass factor ies, 3 m a t c h factor ies, 26 o i l m i l l s , one large pa in t and varn ish w o r k , 3 bone c rush ing mi l ls , 2 che­m ica l factor ies, and a n u m b e r of smal l engineer ing workshops a n d marb le works.

In fac t the large indus t r i a l estab­l ishments of Ra jas than can be coun ted on f ingers , a n d even these suffer f r o m ei ther lack of suff icient power , inadequate f inance or short ­age of raw mater ia ls .

Ra jas than is also w e l l - k n o w n fo r its cottage industr ies and u rban arts a n d crafts. Hand loom weav ing is its m a j o r cot tage indust ry w i t h some 64,000 hand looms. Others are got a and kinare m a k i n g , jewe l cu t t i ng ,

w o o l sp inn ing a n d weav ing , dar i a n d niwar m a k i n g , cal ico p r i n t i n g , ename l l i ng on me ta l , marb le w o r k , i vo ry w o r k , paper m a k i n g , leather w o r k , brass utensi ls m a n u f a c t u r i n g , stone ca rv ing and po l ish ing , soap m a k i n g , wooden toys, rope m a k i n g , khus a n d rose scent m a k i n g , etc., etc. M o s t o f t h e m suffer f r o m i n ­adequate f inance and the conse­quen t t y ranny o f the m idd le m a n , ou t -moded techn ique, lack o f r a w mater ia ls a n d defect ive ma rke t i ng .

I t is ra ther strange tha t the home­l a n d of Bir las, Da lm ias , Singhanias, Seksarias, Doogars a n d Rampur i as has been famish ing indus t r ia l l y fo r the last so many years. Perhaps, Ra jas than i cap i ta l prefers commer­c ia l e m p l o y m e n t ; i t lacks indus t r i a l s tamina. S t i l l i t is never too late to mend . Ra jas than abounds in some of the raw mater ia ls requ i red for large-scale industr ies. I f ade­quate and cheap supply of power is avai lable and if more interest is pa i d by the industr ia l is ts a n d b ig businessmen of Ra jas than in this d i rec t ion , progress in indus t ry should not be d i f f i cu l t . Fo r example , there is a great scope fo r the develop­ment o f w o o l indust ry . Ra jas than has near ly one- f i f th of Ind ia 's sheep w h i c h yields one - th i rd o f Ind ia ' s to ta l woo l p roduc t i on . A b o u t 67

per cent of the woo l p roduced is expor ted outside I n d i a . We shou ld make i t a po in t to use a l l the w o o l we expor t a n d thus step up o u r w o o l indust ry .

Besides, there is enough scope fo r the establ ishment of new indus t r ia l uni ts in co t ton text i les, sugar, cement , leather, glass, power alco­h o l , and pot tery and porce la in . T h e vast salt b i t terns at Sambhar , D i d w a n a and Pachbhadra, w h i c h possess h igh chemica l values, s t i l l awa i t scientif ic analysis and system­at ic u t i l i sa t ion . T h e Depar tmen t o f Industr ies and Commerce , Rajas­t h a n , is seriously consider ing this p rob lem.

There is no t m u c h to ta lk about indus t r ia l labour . A lmos t al l the i m p o r t a n t labour legislations have been recently passed by the Gove rn ­ment . We have st i l l to awai t the i r w o r k i n g . T r a d e un ion ism is very weak. T h e s t rength o f labour w i l l g row w i t h the deve lopment o f indus t ry and general en l igh tenment .

T h e other sectors of Ra jas than economy are also under-developed. Bank ing , w h i c h is an index of the indus t r i a l and commerc ia l develop­men t of a coun t ry , is very poor ly represented by f o u r local scheduled banks w h i c h were started only a few years ago and tha t , too, w i t h

June 28, 1952

G o v e r n m e n t help . T h e Co-opera­t ive M o v e m e n t is s t i l l in its embryo­nic stage and the vast credit needs of the masses are met by the vi l lage and t o w n money-lenders and indigenous bankers. T h e State has come i n t o the picture on ly recently i n the p rog ramme o f G M F campaign .

In matters of" transport, a n d com­munica t ions , we have a ne t -work of rai lways w i t h a mileage of 3,157 spread th roughou t Rajasthan, bar­r i n g Jaisalmer and some parts of the southern h i l l y tracts. Bu t , on the other hand , we have only 9,314 miles of roads of all. types. T h i s works out at a figure of 6.5 miles of road per h u n d r e d sq. miles of area for a l l types of roads, a n d if we take only the meta l led roads, the figure w o u l d go d o w n as l ow as 2.5 miles per h u n d r e d sq. miles, whereas in the o ther States in I n d i a (except M a d h y a Bhara t where roads per h u n d r e d sq. miles are on ly 9.2 miles) have got 20 to 40 miles of roads per h u n d r e d sq. miles. Schemes have been prepared for cons t ruc t ing about 1,500 miles of roads, mostly meta l led , besides a large number of drainage works , bridges a n d approach roads.

Great expectations were enter­ta ined by the people of Rajasthan in regard to the p repara t ion and execution of the Five Year Plan, I t was earnestly hoped that the Plan w o u l d raise Rajas than to the level of the more advanced States of I n d i a . On a superficial v iew, the Plan for Rajasthan appears impressive. T h e t o t a l expend i tu re ' of Rs 1,521.25 lakhs is d i s t r ibu ted a m o n g various heads as fo l lows :

(in Rs lakhs) Agriculture and Rural Deve­

lopment . . . . . 167.22 Irrigation and Power . . 494-30 Industry 38-50 Transport . . . . 291.00 Social Services .. . 530.20

t h u s i t i s on ly a repl ica in m i n i a t u r e o f the A l l - I n d i a Plan . In the Five. Yea r Plan , however, the expendi ture per capi ta in the different const i tuent States differs greatly. For example, the expendi ­tu re per capi ta in each of the Par t A and Part B States is as fo l lows :

T h e table d e a r l y shows tha t wh i l e the per head expendi ture in the States of Saurashtra, Mysore , Bombay a n d Madra s w i l l be Rs 5 1 , 40 33 and 24 respectively, the expendi ture per head in Rajasthan, viz:., Rs 10 is the lowest of a l l the States. How can the eco­nomic reconstruct ion of Rajasthan be possible if development expendi­ture remains so meagre? It is t rue tha t most other States are more prosperous and tha t is w h y they can spend more in i m p l e m e n t i n g the i r economic p l an . F r o m this

v i ewpo in t Rajasthan. has to face cer ta in handicaps. T h i s makes the responsibili ty of the. Cen t r a l G o v ­ernment a l l the greater. I t ough t to have given greater f inancial he lp to the economical ly backward States of I n d i a . I t is strange that the representatives of the Rajasthan Government d i d not focus the a t t en t ion of the Cen t r a l Govern ­ment on this v i t a l po in t . No wonder that the people of Rajas­than have voiced a compla in t tha t they have been treated step­mothe r ly by the Cen t r a l Gove rn ­men t !

Even this small-scale p l a n does not seem to have any b r igh t fu ture in Rajasthan. F i rs t ly , there is no well-organised machinery for the execution of the P lan . Secondly, unless there is a favourable a tmo­sphere for the smooth func t ion ing of the governmenta l machinery , p lanned economic development w i l l have l i t t le chance.

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THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY