INTRODUCTION TO MAHARASHTRA Formed in 1960 combining districts

INTRODUCTION TO MAHARASHTRA Formed in 1960, combining districts from the erstwhile Bombay province, Nizam’s dominions and Central Provinces and Berar, during the linguistic reorganization of the states in India Presentation by S. J. Phansalkar

MAP OF MAHARASHTRA

• Area - 307 thousand sq km • Population (excl. Mumbai) 85 million • Rural population 69% • # BPL (rural) 23% on new definition (it was 43% in 1997 on the basis of poverty line = Rs. 49 at 1973 prices) • Average monthly per capita consumption expenditure (rural) equivalent to Rs. 171 (1988 prices), which is below the average for India

Av. land holding 2 ha % irrigated area 13% Irrigation by source: Canals 22% Tanks 14% Ground water 56% Others 6%

Three zones of Maharashtra

FEATURES OF ALL REGIONS KONKAN Attributes • High rainfall • UHM • Highly industrialized • Lateritic soils • Acute water problem in dry seasons • Highly denuded • Crops: field crops are rice and inferior millets • Coastal horticulture: alphanso, cashew, sapota etc. Horticu hands of large, often absentee landlords from Gujarat and M • High urbanization around Greater Mumbai • Tribal people: Katkari, Thakarada and Mahadeo kolis in the

DESH Western and Central Maharashtra districts • Rainshadow region, low rainfall, less than 700 mm • Intensely cultivated • Surface irrigated • Ground water sources vanished • Field crops: sugarcane, sorghum, soyabean, sunflower, safflower, pigeon pea, cotton • Horticulture crops grown in

PUNE, NASHIK, SANGLI, JALGAON • Crops include vegetables: tomato, onion, full range of vegetables • Fruits Grape Pomegranate Strawberry Banana • Soils are loamy to clay loam • UHM in Western parts, flat in the rest • High degree of poverty • Communities: caste Hindu, special horticultural communities of malis

VIDHARBHA • High rainfall, predictable monsoon, average rain above 800 -900 mm • Main crops: cotton, pigeon pea, soyabean, sorghum. Rice in the Eastern district • Low irrigation level • Largely ground water based • Very poor proportion in second crops • Horticultural crop: mandarine, orange (show Northern regions of Amrawati and Nagpur districts) • Ground water levels fast receding in orange belt • Acute poverty • Politics of cotton

PROJECT AREA Twelve project districts Within these, there are different focus areas: Pomegranate Nasik and Solapur Banana: Jalgaon and Dhule Vegetables: Aurangabad, Jalna, Ahmednagar Orange: Amrawati • Highly ground water stressed regions • Expensive conventional drip systems also very popular • Subsidy scheme on drip systems • Large marketing network in Central Maharashtra for drip related materials