Maharashtra Economic Survey compares state's per capita with Karnataka

Mumbai: A comparison with poll-bound Karnataka's per capita income in Maharashtra's Economic Survey tcaused a flutter, with the Congress dubbing it as a political move while the government justifying it.

The Economic Survey mentioned that the per capita income in the BJP-ruled Maharashtra has risen by 12.1 percent in 2016-17 while that of the Congress-ruled Karnataka by 10.2 percent in similar period.

The Survey, projecting a 2.7 percent slide in the state economy in (fiscal) 2017-18 compared to 2016-17, was presented in the state legislature, a day ahead of tabling of the Budget 2018-19.

The Survey mentioned that the per capita income in Maharashtra for 2016-17 stood at Rs 1,65,491 whereas that of Karnataka at Rs 1,57,474.

Terming it as an unprecedented move, former Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan said the earlier Surveys never compared the state's per capita income with any other state.

"Karnataka is going to polls soon. Why the BJP-led Maharashtra government has compared its per capita income with Karnataka only when it is higher than the southern state? It looks like a political move. This (comparison) could be used in Karnataka for political reasons," Chavan told reporters.

The Maharashtra government has selectively dropped names of Goa and Delhi, which are having higher per capita income than Maharashtra, he said.

Maharashtra Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar denied any politics behind mentioning Karnataka in the Survey.

"We did not mention the name of Karnataka state for any political reasons in the economic survey. It was mentioned because for the first time Maharashtra government has surpassed the per capita income of Karnataka. Earlier, Karnataka state had higher per capita income than that of Maharashtra," said Mungantiwar.