Jalna District:The Next Twenty Years

This study contains excerpts from the Jalna vision document. It addresses three aspects of development namely, human development indicators, infrastructure development and development in the productive sectors. The data were collected from 763 villages and analysed to identify issues and arrive at the accepted set of priorities for the district. The district ranks low in terms of HDI because of low per capita income and low literacy level. The district lack basic infrastructure like roads, electricity and water supply. The productivity of the agriculture is also poor due to low and erratic rain fall and lack of irrigational facilities. Roughly 80 per cent population of the district lives in the rural area and hence dependence on agriculture is high. Therefore, agriculture and allied activities along with agro-based industries emerge as lead sectors of the economy. Thus, the vision of the district revolves around education, health, infrastructure, irrigation and agro based industries.