Bhuj2 hours agoAuthor: Harshil Parmar
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- Economic Prosperity – Once Morarji Desai sarcastically said, ‘How will Gujarat be able to bear the burden of Kutch which depends on the money order economy?’ : Today Kutch has become a money maker district for the country and the state!
- Vishisht- Kutch’s inability to sit boldly like a phoenix bird after a calamity.
- Specialties- Leader in Exports, Tax Collection, Electricity, Industrial Production
- The Legislature-Prime Minister has also said that Kutch is the fastest growing district in the country.
Morarji Desai, a veteran Congress leader who went on to become the Prime Minister of the country, said about Kutch during the Great Gujarat Movement that, ‘How can Gujarat bear the burden of Kutch, which depends on the money order economy?’ The former finance minister of the state, Sanat Mehta, made this claim in one of his articles in 2014! But if we look at the current Kutch, Swa. The denominator of Morarji Desai’s statement automatically flies away. Because today Kutch has not become a money order but a money maker district for the state and the country.
Kutch has been blessed with development even in the face of frequent natural calamities and heterogeneous geographical conditions. It is the favorite district of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He has called Kutch the fastest growing district in the country. Today, Kutch has made significant progress in areas like electricity, import-export, industrialization. This country, characterized by large deserts and arid regions, has cemented its place among the leading districts of the state in agriculture and horticulture.
Development here, there, everywhere – be it economic production or agriculture, Kutch’s stunner
15 percent of the world’s bauxite market near Kutch: Top in refractory materials
The industrial potential of Kutch is significant not only in India but globally. In which 15 percent of the world’s bauxite market is in Kutch, the largest bleaching clay complex is in Kutch. So our district is at the top in the production of refectory materials. The cluster pipeline construction facility is the largest in the world here. 85 percent of the country’s gromine is produced here. Kutch meets 50 percent of the country’s edible oil requirement. Kutch is also among the leading districts in cement industry. The world’s second largest textile cluster is located here.
Leading District in the State in Horticulture : First in Fruits : Sweetness Reached Abroad
According to the figures for the year 2020-21 released by the office of the State Director of Horticulture, Kutch ranks second in horticulture cultivation and third in production. In 2020-21, 1.60 lakh hectares were planted and 14.19 lakh metric tonnes of crops were produced in Kutch. Kutch was the first with 56581 hectares of fruit plantation and 985364 metric tons of production. Kutch ranks among the top five in cultivation and production of spices and cumin. Amba, the king of fruits, is planted in 10.60 thousand hectares while Kutch is third with production of 1.17 lakh metric tons. Kutch is first in the state in cultivation and production of pomegranate, kharek, papaya and isabgul.
Fertile cultivation in dry land: Top-5 position in Kharif: Adopted foreign technology
Like Israel, Kutch is also advanced in agriculture. The farmer here has a knack for harvesting crops even in extreme conditions. Due to the lack of irrigation facilities, sowing of rabi and summer crops is slow in Kutch. But Kutch is among the top five districts in the state in kharif sowing. In the year 2021, Kharif crops were planted in 5.43 lakh hectares in Kutch. Kutch was ranked fourth after Banaskantha, Surendranagar, Amreli. Last year, mung bean, sesame, matha, diwela and guar were planted in Kutch more than in the state.
12.63 lakh crores worth of exports from Kutch this year
Kutch ranks among the top 15 districts in the country in terms of exports. Kutch ranks after Jamnagar, Surat, Drarka in the state. If we talk about the year 2022-23, half of 12.63 lakh crores have been exported from Kutch till July.
Exports of wheat and rice to the country are greater than those from Kutch
Every year rice is exported from Kutch in the country. But this year India has also exported wheat to many countries of the world. So far in 2022-23, Kutch has exported wheat worth 32 thousand crores and rice worth 63 thousand crores.
In terms of deposits in banks, Kutch ranks fifth in the state
In the Socio-Economic Review Report presented in the Legislative Assembly this year by the state government, the reserves in the banks of Kutch had been shown to be 43.66 thousand crores. Which is higher than Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat and Rajkot.
Kutch, the revenue arm of Indian Railways: 4800 crores revenue
Kutch is the prodigal son of Indian Railways. In the year 2021-22, Railways earned 4800 crores from Kutch. Out of which 4400 crore was from goods transport and 400 crore was from passenger traffic. There is a possibility that this record will be broken this year as well.
Kutch produces 35 to 50 percent of the state’s electricity!
There are two government and two private coal-based power plants in Kutch. In the year 2021-22, 35 percent of the state i.e. 22131 million units of electricity was generated in the power stations of Kutch. While in 2020-21, 50 percent of the state’s electricity was generated. Kutch is also a leading district in wind and other energy. The world’s largest hybrid energy park is being built in Kutch.
Kandla and Mundra Customs alone overflowed the tax collection treasury of 40 thousand crores
Two of the largest ports of the country are located in Kutch. The office of the Principal Commissioner of Kandla and Mundra Customs of the Central Government is located here. In the year 2021-22 Kandla Customs Rs. 25100 crore and Mundra Customs Rs. 23300 crore was collected as customs tax. So Central GST also collected tax of 2295 crores from Kutch.
Handling more than 30 percent of the country’s cargo
Kutch has the major government port Kandla and the private sector Mundra port. Apart from this there are also ports like Tuna, Jakhou and Mandvi. Ports of Kutch account for more than 30 percent of country cargo handling (all import-export materials). In the year 2021-22, Kandla Port handled 127 million metric tonnes of cargo while Mundra Port handled 150 million metric tonnes of cargo. The figures of these two ports were the highest in the country.
1.74 odd revenue by July under RTO!
Although the population of Kutch is small, the transport industry has developed a lot here. As a result, RTO income is diverted from Kutch to the state government. If we talk about the current year, the government has received 1.74 billion from Kutch till July itself. Which ranks fifth after Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot
