Performance Evaluation of Statutory Development Boards (SDBS) in Maharashtra

Abstract

Disparities in development across Marathwada, Rest of Maharashtra & Vidarbha of the State of Maharashtra have been a matter of socio-political concern for long. The issue of disparities as it has unfolded over the years, is concerned with unequal access to some key socio-economic infrastructure facilities across regions. Though the Government of Maharashtra had been allocating some plan funds since the mid -1980s to address the issue of regional disparities, yet the gaps in infrastructure availability across regions widened in some sectors during the greater part of 1980s & 1990s. Sociopolitical imperatives led to the formation of Statutory Development Boards in 1994 to articulate the issues relating to regional disparities and suggest strategies for their removal in a time bound manner for systematic follow-up actions.