Consider Jharkhand, the mineral-rich region, which constitutes part of south Bihar thus far. The tribals of this region have been waging a virtual war for the past 50 years to get a separate state for themselves. Their plea: The development of the tribal belt continued to be ignored by the Bihar government, the major part of the cake going to the politically active north Bihar from where almost all the chief ministers of the state hailed.

Uttaranchal has more or less the same story to tell. The hill region, despite contributing substantially to the state exchequer via tourism and horticulture, has been largely neglected in terms of creation of improved infrastructure, setting up of industries and increasing employment opportunities for the youth.

Chhatisgarh, similarly, yearned for more attention from the Madhya Pradesh rulers of the likes of the Mishras, Shuklas and the powerful Singhs. It was a cry in the wilderness with the influential and so called higher caste politicians taking care of their own region at the cost of the economically and socially weaker Chhatisgarh region.

It is in the fitness of things, therefore, that the chief ministers of these states must come from among the people there whose voices have been suppressed all these years. Mr Ajit Jogi has already taken charge of Chhatisgarh as its chief minister. A son of the soil, Mr Jogi's elevation to the top post has been hailed by the people from the region. It goes to the credit of the Congress party that it chose to ignore the voices of the powerful Shuklas (Mr Shyama Charan and Mr Vidya Charan).

According to indications available so far, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has more seats in the Jharkhand region, is all set to anoint a tribal as the first chief minister. In all likelihood, this would be the Union minister of state for environment and forests, Mr Babu Lal Marandi.

Alternatively, it could be another senior BJP leader, Mr Karia Munda, who is a Lok Sabha MP and also happens to be the party's senior vice-president.

As for Uttaranchal, which comes into being on November 9, the choice has narrowed down to the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, Mr K C Pant. For the BJP, which enjoys absolute majority in the region, Mr Pant is an undisputed leader in terms of seniority and stature.

The creation of separate states would definitely mean an improved economy and administration for the respective regions. Chhatisgarh, for example, will be able to earn royalty exclusively for itself for the raw materials it produces. So far it was shared by all of Madhya Pradesh. Its raw materials include bauxite, dolomite, diamond, limestone, iron ore, quartz silica and coal.

The new state's literacy rate, which stood at just 36.56 per cent (rural), is bound to improve with its own administration for the 16 districts that now come under Chhatisgarh. The new state can also boast of some 60,000 sq km of forest area, which it can use exclusively for its advantage.

Jharkhand will be a major gain economically for the people of the region, which contributes as much as 30 per cent of the country's mineral wealth, including iron ore, bauxite, aluminium, uranium and copper. The huge royalty that the Bihar government received for these minerals so far went mostly to north Bihar. Almost all major industrial activities are concentrated in the Jharkhand region-Heavy Engineering Corporation (Ranchi), Tisco (Jamshedpur), Bokaro Steel Plant (Dhanbad), among others.

The Jharkhand region got step-motherly treatment in the distribution of resources from the north Bihar political bosses, resulting in lack of infrastructure, particularly roads, which fall under the state government.

Now the new administration will be able to take care of the region's growth. Devolution of Central resources, of course, needs to be worked out with equity and justice so that the new states do not suffer. The new states are bound to oppose the existing devolution ormula, which lays much emphasis on the per capita income of the region to determine the quota of Central funds they receive. The higher the per capita income, the lower will be the Central funding. Going by this criterion, Uttaranchal will be a loser as it has the highest per capita income among all the three new states, but nevertheless, it requires a substantial amount for the creation of fresh infrastructure.

Interestingly, the creation of Jharkhand has thrown the rest of Bihar into turmoil because few natural resources remain with Bihar. "There is only Laloo (Yadav) and baloo (sand)", is the common refrain among the people. And that is true. Most IAS officers, it is learnt, have opted for Jharkhand as opposed to Chhatisgarh, where most of their tribe are resisting a posting.

In the final analysis, the success or failure of the new states would depend upon what their political masters make of them. They have to guard against corruption and nepotism, which have played havoc in several states. There is perhaps greater need for vigilance in the case of these new states where political and economic power is coming late.