ASSETS:
Has 40 per cent of India's minerals, accounts for two-thirds of Bihar's current revenue collections, large industrial base--can become industrial powerhouse of the east.

LIABILITIES:
Rampant illiteracy, acute poverty, very low level of development.

POLITICAL IMPACT:
The BJP will form the government; Bihar could go bankrupt.

POLITICS:
Finally, a dream realised, but tribal leaders have to mature very quickly.

This is the fourth division for Bihar in less than a century. In 1912, Bihar was separated from West Bengal. In 1936, Orissa was given a distinctive identity. This was followed by the transfer of some areas of Bihar to West Bengal, despite opposition in 1956. That apart, it's a struggle older than India's Independence. The battle for Vananchal or Jharkhand, as it could come to be called, has been waged by the Adivasis of the Chhotanagpur Plateau-Santhal Parganas belt for over 50 years.

The proposed Vananchal is a truncation of the original dream of a Jharkhand that would also include parts of West Bengal and Orissa, restricting itself only to South Bihar but it's a still a vast area.

It is still too early to say who will form the new government in Vananchal after it parts with Bihar. The existing MLAs from the region will automatically become members of the Vananchal Assembly. Being the single largest party with 32 MLAs, the BJP will certainly stake its claim to form a government and clearly have the edge in an area in which they have made rapid gains in the past two election cycles as once powerful Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leaders like Shibu Soren and Suraj Mandal have fallen by the wayside, tainted by corruption scandals. Sources say the likely BJP candidates are Union Minister of State for Forests and Environment Babulal Marandi or Karia Munda.

But the Congress (11) and Rashtriya Janata Dal (9) may yet rope in the support of JMM (Soren) leader Shibu Soren to form a government. Soren has staked his claim for chief ministership even though his party will have just 12 legislators in the 82-member House. Vananchal may eventually get a coalition government comprising the BJP, JMM (Soren), Samata Party (5) and JD (U) (3). The four parties will have 52 MLAs in the 82-member House. Watch that space.

ECONOMY:
The industrial and business powerhouse of Eastern India? It isn't out of the question.

The southern districts' contribution almost account for two-thirds of Bihar's revenue collections. Of the Rs 1,700 crore collected in sales tax in Bihar last year, Rs 1,200 crore came from the districts that will comprise Vananchal. Of the Rs 850 crore Bihar earns in royalty for the mining on its land, Rs 700 crore comes from the mineral-rich South. The region accounts for 37.5 per cent of the country's known coal reserves, 90 per cent of its cooking coal deposits, 40 per cent of its copper, 22 per cent of its iron ore, 90 per cent of its mica and huge deposits of bauxite, quartz and ceramics. It also has immense forest reserves.

Jharkhand could well emerge as a powerhouse given its strong industrial base. In terms of headstart, the region has everything going for it. It has the country's largest steel plant in Bokaro, apart from Jamshedpur practically being the city of TISCO and TELCO, the two largest companies in the Tata Sons stable. Over the years, however, industrial growth in the area lost its momentum because of poor law and order, rent interference from Patna and infrastructure bottlenecks. The separation, it is believed, will help revive growth.

For Bihar it means a drain of its natural resources. What it will be left with is a fertile but flood-prone Gangetic plains and the drought-prone nine central districts. Bihar will also be left with a higher population density than the national average, and a lower tax base as the state will lose crores in sales tax and in cess and royalty on minerals. With mines and factories going to Jharkhand, jobs already scarce in Bihar will become scarcer.

The location of quality educational and research institutions like the Indian School of Mines, the prestigious Xavier Labour Relations Institute--a top-rate business and management school, Birla Institute of Technology and Central Mining Research Institute can also give Jharkhand a fillip. The formation of Jharkhand for Bihar will, however, enhance its share in Central taxes which is also decided on the basis of population. Of the estimated Rs 5,200 crore received as the share of Central taxes, the residual state will get about Rs 3,640 crore while Vananchal will have to be content with Rs 1,560 crore.

Then again, with a total revenue of Rs 3,775 crore, Vananchal may be able to rid itself of the poverty imposed on it. It could rejuvenate Ranchi, jolt a slowed Jamshedpur, hell, it could even wake Calcutta up by making it the commercial and financial hub for Vananchal.