BY the nature of Growth: India Inc.

This is an article (unpublished) written in 2008 which is still relevant for us to take a look..

We Indians are supported a lot by the government machinery from the getting admission of children to marriage to agriculture to industry to even getting richer. Is this is what growth means? The policy making of the democratic nation has in its helm of affair “ignited” the growth prospects of those who have and those who do not have a penny live. We have worked for all who matters in the growth oriented economic policies.

From the Budget of the nation, state and district we have moved towards budgeting the Panchayats and eventually villages. The economic flow of money from one source of distribution to another has resulted in the money accumulated in these sources of power to distribute through more than 5000 different schemes meant for all the sections of the society from the Schedules Castes to Schedules Tribe to Women to Children to the minorities and now even NRI ! We have taken care of all the beneficiaries. But what makes us shout our lungs out for the 700 million Indians who were supposed to benefit (excluding the 10 million rich and 2 million billioners India has produced). We have targeted our reforms and libralisation for the 2 percent of the industrial and rich community. We have created class divide in the society by keeping the masses aloof from the benefits by making the issue of reservation, minority rights, environmental and intellectual movements. Those who have received the benefits of the libral government policies and reform have been churning the wheels of economic freedom to make maximum out of it. As if they are the “Devtas” and masses are “Asuras”.

The masses once more than 80 percent were dependent on the agriculture are not allowed to stay in the fields instead are forced labour in the factories, live in slums of metros, slave out in Information Technology Parks and malls owned by the elites. This was not the dream of the martyrs and freedom fighters of the nation. The fight was not only to give the country freedom from the British rule but also the manner in which the resources of rural India was exploited by the industries, government and elites. The setting of Indian industries during those time was answer to the capital intensive and export oriented industries mainly created for the empire.

We started well by setting the large public industries which were largely from the public money and people from the country proudly called it ‘Ratna’. But now what remains is ‘stones’ which hamphers the growth of nation. The burden of development cannot be left to the public industries, the private sector have contributed enough in making the money spin, but this was not for You and Me but for the enterprise owners and shareholders. Where else than you find the dwindling the Small and Medium Enterprise, death of cottage and household industries. The opening of competition between the Indian small and Medium Industries with the mega multinational companies instantly killed the industries already survived on the borrowed oxygen from the government. The protective covers of the industries were removed to die own death in the heat of the competition.

Now about the agriculturists the burden of the population was cited as important point in limitation of the planners to allow the farmers and their families to depend on it. What makes the development slow, not the land availability but lacking the per hectare productivity (we have not developed the technology). The fruits of the first green revolution in the country cannot be harnessed even after thirty years we have to move on and take the realities of the ground on our hand. The land record system in the nation is bad and we have not maintained proper natural resource inventory, why we want to destroy the agricultural lands only in the name of the industry. Why we cannot develop the bad land, waste land and arid land for the benefit of agriculture? The area under the irrigation has not increased as per the desired scale in our states. Most of the developed states have shun agriculture in lieu of industrialization are facing the shortage of area under the food crops. The backward states like UP, Bihar and Rajasthan has enough land to support the population, even if do not bother to understand the ‘carrying capacity’ of the land. The declining productivity is also result of the poor fertilizer policy (excessive subsidy and use) resulting in making unfruitful utilization of it on the not so required area.
How to set things right or change the nature of growth? We have experienced in country that one can set up an industry worth billions of Rupees in India without any license today, but a farmer in U.P. can neither set up a brick kiln unit, nor a rice shelling plant, nor a cold storage, and not even cut a tree standing on his own private field without bribing several officials. The impact of reforms on the poor has been adverse because of their vulnerable socio-economic position, and in such a case spending money on development schemes without improving their bargaining power will further impoverish them. The sociological and political factors that lie behind the institutional constraints on poverty reduction get little mention in the government programmes. How existing policies impact on the poor is hardly analysed by the rural development departments of central and state governments.
Government intervention should not only improve the incomes of the poor, but their bargaining power vis-a-vis the moneylenders, landlords and bureaucracy. Such empowering measures need to be distinguished from the populist measures which merely act as doles and do not enable the poor to stand on their own legs or fight for their rights. Empowerment is good in itself, leads to higher incomes, and checks corruption and arbitrary use of power. In the past this was sought to be achieved through land reforms, although it appears to be a closed chapter now.

Another very important element which is emerging in the country is non-governmental organizations (NGO). There may be NGOs just making money and doing nothing wonderful, but there are also a large number of good NGOs who are working independent of government and they would after some time be very powerful and the Civil Services would have to compete with them. In Bangladesh, 80 to 90% of all development funds are spent through the NGOs. The coming years will see increasing importance of NGOs in policy making and implementation in India too.
Forget the Civil Servents their days are numbered so long as government controlled all the goodies of the world, the civil servants looked upon government as mai-baap and defined their relation with the government as jeena yahan marna yahan, iske siva jaana kahan, and they were prepared to do all kinds of wrong things for politicians. But today there are several escape routes, and new powerful forces are emerging in India making it a truly plural society. Just to give one example, in the 70s states wooed Government of India if they wanted projects, and this required political manouvering, now the states have to woo private capital and specially foreign capital, and these new donors will demand better administration and better professional management. It is a very healthy trend that the monopoly of capital, the monopoly of powers, the monopoly of authority which government enjoyed in the past is breaking down today.
The civil servants have to operate in the open market, and establish their credentials and then only they would be able to build up their careers. Top jobs would be given not on the basis of pulls or manipulations but expertise. In the Finance Ministry today, which is the Mecca of all IAS officers, the three top positions are occupied by academics. It is they who make all decisions, and not any pen pushing bureaucrat. And knowledge is going to emerge as one of the most important resource of the 21st century. Marx talked about three resources: land, capital and labour, I think if he had been alive today, Marx would have added knowledge as the most important resource, much more important than land, labour and capital.
The new pressures on the political system generated by judiciary, NGOs and elites which are independent of government and International donor agencies are likely to act as a sobering influence on political irresponsibility. It also creates a favourable climate in which some of the reform proposals designed to give more functional autonomy to the civil service and to make it resist unwanted political pressure would be acceptable to the decision makers.
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Development of the poor and violent ends of democracy

The heart of India is burning with the sounds of violent clash of forces representing India's democratic government and tribes (co termed naxals) as opposed to present form of governance is becoming louder. The lack of 'development' efforts and exploitation by the government machinery including the forest and police department have resulted in a series of distrust and violent activities directed at the protesting villagers of central India.

The violent end of democracy is promoted by government agencies towards the anti-governmental forces inclined to rootout the protesters, their families and villages has been going on since last three decades. The present operation 'Green' Hunt, is directed towards the 'Red' ideologies in central India including forested areas of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhyapradesh, Chattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Jharkand, Bihar and Souther Uttar Pradesh. The people had been alineated not only from their resources but also left to fend for themselves is an outcome of the modern path of development adopted in independent India. The planners, administrators and intellectuals had delibrately avoided their plight in order to safeguard their position for seeking the state support for their pursuits.

The placement of people against the people by democratically elected government led to plunder and loot in region associated with violent clashes and killings. The government backed armed forces is presently engaged to flush out the people residing in 60,000 Sq. km of area and having more than 10,000 villages indirectly administered by the extreme left ideologies. This taking over of governence has continued since 1960s and now suddenly GoI through open armed conflict has waged a war against their own citizens.

Its fear and failure of government which has further aggrevied the situation in region. There result -instead of getting harsh promises of development, the people are happy take charge of situation themselves. Whether we can say, this is an violent end of democracy in central India? Perish or agree, for the people and in central India more violence would be reported in coming days. What would come next is spread of more facts and information about the peoples movement and struggle in rest of India, which would claim further life of government agenda in central India.

Being Voice of Poor - A Fugutive in his own Nation

A frail looking figure and abundence of vision, a desire to serve the poor and will of steel to take on establishment, thats what I can describe Avinash Kulkarni. On the face of it he seems to be associated with the organisation whoes movement associated with alleged violent actions in parts of central India. He is democratic voice of the peoples movement, like him many sympathisers of the banned organisation continue to propogate the ideas without indulging in violence. The Gujarat state has never experience violence from the those who belived to be associated with peoples movement against the present governence. Like him many are opposed to present system, take for instance the recent outbrust of Baba Ramdev in public broadcast. But he remains unquestioned as supporter of ideologies related to dissatisfaction with the present governance. The protests and refutal of a system is enshrined in the constitutional rights of citizen, yet the government seems to act, like its erstwhile colonial masters to eradicate the radicals and opponents. The society though watches it silently may not be absorbing all without having reflections on the actions of present governments against the intellectual supporters of ideology. Rather, with the arrest of the soft sympatherisers like Avinash- the government of India has invited other intellectual to come in open discussion. There are wrongs done by people who adhere to violence as a means to meet the end to the present system of governence. We need to condemn and restrict the violence while forcing the change in system of governence. I keept asking these questions to our interactions with intellectuals, elders and mass leaders of similar ideologies for peoples movement. The distrust and total illusion with the present system is responsible for promotion of this situation in most of India. Globally, leaders of people movement is never trusted by the popular governments, either elected democratically or by manupulation of systems and people. Governments are responsible for encouraging the powerful and rich to exploit the poor and downtrodden. The focal policies of governence have benefited the rich more than the poor. How can rational mind remain silent on such a system of exploitation of resources? Example are plenty in forestry, mining, power, telecom, cement, textile and media. These are run by powerful rich and people have no chance to take capital benefits. Every person is consumer and bound to be in debt either here or in America. The powerful financial controllers manupulate the system so that people do not become free from debt. They remain under huge stress and debt in order to supply money to the billionares club. Employment, housing, and security has still remain ellusive to most of people in the world.

More reactions from the government against the sympatisers of the peoples movement is yet to come. Its my appeal to both the sides of present conflict to adhere to peace and come to negotiation terms for the benefit of nation. Governments may crush the activists but it would be difficult win the heart of masses. Jai Hind

Housing for Poor: Serving the Rich

Under the current JNNURM and IHSDP scheme, the Government of India has initiated a huge task of providing housing for the poor by the way giving the houses at the susidised rate with contribution from the central, state and local funds. At the start of the scheme in 2006 it was assumed a significant step towards attaining the goal and changes were observed in the attitude of the state and local government. But now experts like Amitabh Kundu (Professor, JNU) and Krishnamurty (Director, Centre for Policy research) have questioned the ideological bankrupcy of the thinkers in changing the norms for the sake of serving the target groups from EWS/LIG to MIG/HIG householders. The price range for the house with loan components have been increased from Rs. 90,000 to Rs. 1,50,000 in most of the schemes and subsequently to Rs. 3.0 to 5.0 lakhs in the schemes running in the metropolitan cities of country. This high cost of the housing would not be able to target the income group it was intending to serve. Secondly the lobbying by the builders and developers inorder to take hold of prime land are forcing the schemes to be removed from the current locations to the outskirts of the city in the pretext of providing housing for the poor. Are we serious?

This shift in outlook and retroric of 'slum free India' is changing the basic ideologies and approach needs to be adopted for the housing for the poor. By these projects housing stock in the cities might be increased but it would be difficult to provide housing for the poor. It was not right on the part with the governments to play in the hands of private parties and forget the larger interests of the urban poor. Urban improvement and renewal if it can be taken 'in situ' should be encouraged, particiaption by the community concerned should be made mandatory in the project (construction and services), local bodies should involve themselves directly to the projects rather then engaging the contractors and developers for the projects.

ULCRA (land Ceiling) does not harm the poor, this should not be tinkered in the pretext of releasing land for the poor, instead the land should be released by the districts immediatly for the projects. Not more than 5 % of land would be required for the housing for the poor in the city. It would not be difficult to accomodate them in the current schemes and plan for action regarding housing for them.

Lets not be in haste in acheiving the targets under the schemes, people are not the objects for the scheme rather these are the subjects and requires sensitive handling.

Missing Development Debates in 21st century

Follow my footprints is what has been happening while we agree to thinking development processes in 20th Century. The world as it is busy with playing with mind and body of the people while treating them as object then a subject for their developmental efforts. The millineum development Goals setup by the UNDP (United Nations Development Program) has set the criteria for the converting these objects into subjects but the governments are not willing to see that way. The urban and rural India is apt with the visible and physical changes in the development notion, and forgetting the human and behavioural changes in the communities and societies. We are missing debates while implementation of the programs have become non critical of their acheivements and third parties does not exist who can question the authority. Once parties who are implementing includes the class people belonging to similar socio-cultural melieu its difficult to appoint a judge for the evaluation of the programmes. The citadels of powers in the democracy has been built over the two decades with little serious thought can be given to the notion of 'human face' of the development. Its better to be talked about by economists who anyway have taken control of the social, physical and cultural thought processess in the country. Though they are assisted by politicians and legal professionals. The litrary adventure of the societies in expression of the systems are limited and scope of improvisation is limited. The electronic media or its paper version is not the place to be thinking about the expressions about the failures or success of development since the shortlived nature of presentations.

The researchers and institutions are failing in following independent line of thought while the governence of the system is being left unquestioned. The rights of poor and marginalised are being looked from the close door discussions and hushed manner rather then being open and serious. Talks about the forest dwellers, slum dwellers and informal workers across the country is limited to few icons of power and media extension of public information about the situation is not being provided through popular mediums. Thus a systematic failure in checks and balance on the 'development' issues in the country.

Smaller Towns does not needs Town planners??

This is mantra being adopted in the country since we got independence. The local bodies even in the 21st century does not want technical hand for their planning and management of urban infrastructure. The admininstrators from the state public service commissions or Indian Administrative Services (IAS) were given enough training so that they become master of all technical fields. Albeit why they were not managing the Reserve Bank of India or National Bank or Planning commission is point of debate for the urban & regional planning communities.

Of course the economists have dominated the thinking class in India, whether they are talking about society or environment, rest of cake is taken over the Masters of Business Administration (MBAs). Recently government departments have also started recruiting MBAs in agriculture, rural development, tribal development, health department and environmental ministry. No matter our planning ferteninty is ever silent on their own path for contribution towards the national concerns. Somebody recently pointed out how many urban planners (town planners) have contributed for the national projects? No answers. Not even for the states urban development. Town planning departments are kept at bay while the state keep on investing money on the infrastructure, city planning and development plans.

The multi-disciplinary team of planning fertinity has lost their own touch, rather each one of us has found a professional 'hole' or well to safe guard our livelihoods. Unitary tendency of the planning is at threat in most the states and countries. Smallers towns are adopted by the states and larger governments to take care of their needs by feeding them regularly on the grass instead smaller cities require proper nutrition and care.

It is good that PSC of the states has seperate cadre for the police and judiciaries otherwise this would also have been made mess by the state masters. Those who are running the show tend to display a unique character in being cherismatic and full of energy in executing the details of the works. As long as people at large who are in deep sleep is not disturbed there is hardly a inch of lateral movement in politics of urban development.