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Make the job guarantee
Act sustainable On Record |
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Indian identity with a global mindset
NCR holds key to Delhi’s survival Profile Diversities — Delhi Letter
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Make the job guarantee
Act sustainable THE National Rural Employment Guarantee (NREG) Act, 2005 enacted on September 7, 2005 is a historic legislation for the simple reason that it has put the onus of providing employment on the government. This is first of its kind. The Act also provides for an assured employment. A person is entitled to unemployment allowance, subject to a minimum of Rs 60 a day. Over the years, productive absorption of underemployed and surplus labour force in the rural sector has been a major focus of planning for rural development. To provide direct supplementary wage employment to the rural poor through public works, the Centre initiated many programmes, namely, the National Rural Employment Programme (NREP), the Rural Landless Employment Guarantee Pogramme (RLEGP) and the Jawahar Rozgar Yojana (JRY). Currently, the Sampoorna Gramin Rozgar Yojana (SGRY) is being implemented all over the country to provide supplementary wage employment in rural areas, create durable rural infrastructure and ensure food security. Though the SGRY is providing some relief to the rural poor, its reach has been inadequate in view of the dimension of unemployment in rural areas. The NREG Act constitutes a pioneering endeavour to secure wage employment for the households in the rural areas as a guaranteed entitlement. It takes into account the experience of 30 years gained under the Employment Guarantee Sscheme in Maharashtra. The new Act is expected to break the vicious circle of poverty in case of 67 per cent of below the poverty line (BPL) families. This would increase their purchasing power and thereby give a big push to the overall economic development. The scheme will also help check migration from rural to urban areas and solve the problem of urban slums. No doubt, it is a visionary attempt to remove poverty, but how to ensure its sustainability should be the central issue. To begin with, the scheme will cover only 200 districts with no time-bound framework to extend it to the remaining 400 districts in the country. The Act provides employment to only one person in each household. Moreover, the urban poor are excluded from the ambit of the Act. At present, the most crucial segment in the rural economy is underemployed, i.e. they may not be openly unemployed but because of the seasonal variations in agriculture, there may be inter-seasonal employment variations. Therefore, operation of public works for creating employment needs to be adjusted in a manner that the demand for workers does not coincide with the normal demand for agricultural operations. As regards wage rates too, it can be said that they cannot be uniform throughout the country. There are inter-regional and intra-regional variations in wage rates. Therefore, attention may be given to those regions where labour is relatively cheap. This will ensure the generation of maximum employment opportunities in the country. Further, the fixation rate @ Rs 60 fee a day may be inconsistent with the minimum wages under the law. In such cases, therefore, financial support from the states concerned may be called for. The most crucial issue in the rural employment guarantee scheme is the selection of rural projects. It is possible that considering the gravity of the problem, some short duration projects like construction of link roads, housing, land reclamation, afforestation, water supply, watershed development, etc. may be undertaken in the agricultural off-season. Therefore, it is extremely necessary that simultaneously grounds for the generation of long-term employment opportunities should be laid down. For this purpose, some growth nuclei/ agricultural hubs/ mini focal points could be developed by establishing a network of small-scale industries consistent with the resource endowment of different areas. The misuse of funds is another area of grave concern. To check this problem, there should be proper all-round monitoring. It would still be better if panchayats or pachayat raj institutions are involved in recommending and supervising the projects. The democratically elected panchayats must have a key role in the whole process because in the light of the local needs and responsibilities, these grassroot institutions can play a redounding and meaningful role in local planning. These can also help ensure greater accountability. Being fully aware of the opportunities and constraints of the specific areas, the panchayats concerned can make the scheme more sustainable. Last but not the least, there is the problem of financial resources. The implementation of the NREG Act would require huge resources (Rs 9,000 crore initially which is expected to reach Rs 1.5 lakh crore by the time the scheme gather full momentum). No doubt, the Central government has huge funds at its disposal. Yet without the active financial contribution of the states, the scheme may fizzle out. Therefore, the states should have also have some financial stake in the scheme. Almost all the states have such departments as Agricultural Marketing Board, Land (Urban) Development Agencies, etc. which have accumulated huge funds. A small contribution out of these funds or some small supplementary levy exclusively for financing the employment guarantee scheme can make it financially sustainable. In fine, considering the secondary and tertiary benefits for the Indian economy, the NREG scheme must succeed. It will break the vicious circle of poverty because the resulting increase in income will improve the health and education standard of the beneficiaries. The demand for farm and non-farm products will increase. Petty social crimes may also be checked to some extent. The writer is UGC Emeritus Fellow, Department of Economics, Punjabi University, Patiala
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On Record
DR Balachandra Mungekar, Chairperson of the new governing body of Shimla’s Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS) hopes to take the premier institution to great heights. His life is a success story scripted by hard work. Born in a poor Dalit family in Maharashtra, his father ensured that he went to school. A crusader for the rights of the marginalised, Dr Mungekar wants to change the lives of millions of underprivileged Indians. In an interview to The Sunday Tribune, he spells out his plan to enhance the prestige of the IIAS. He laments that India is yet to overthrow a rigid and irrelevant caste system which nurtures untouchability and discrimination. Excerpts: A: Two things are on my priority list. Like the Princeton University, on which the IIAS has been modelled, there could be strong linkages of the institute with other similar institutes in the world. But immediately we will go in for collaboration with 10 prominent universities and five or six academic institutes in the country which are specialised in different areas in consultation with the governing body and the general council. I also propose to decentralise the working of the institute. Basic research will continue at the institute, but other activities like organising seminars and lectures will be organised in different parts of the country. We would like to involve various universities and academic institutions in the functioning of the IIAS to spread its message and mission. Q: What action will be taken on the financial and academic bungling at the IIAS and the inquiry committee’s report on irregularities in the award of fellowships? A: I am going through the entire correspondence. I will take appropriate action without any injustice to anyone, but keeping the interest of the institute paramount. Q: You had proposed a progressive taxation system where the affluent are taxed more to benefit the middle and lower income groups. Will this ensure greater access to education? A: The proposal was made taking into account the state’s welfare role. Both the Centre and the states should spend more for higher and technical education. Simultaneously, relatively better off sections of society should pay more for higher education. This will involve the principle of cross subsidisation. Otherwise, poor people will be deprived of educational facilities. To help the poor, better off sections should come forward. We have also suggested the formation of a higher education finance corporation to give loans to students of all categories at concessional rates, depending on the parents’ financial status. Today commercial banks give loans to students, but these are not adequate. An apex body, with some corpus from the Centre, states and corporate sector, should help students. Q: What about the provisions for students from reserved sections? A: We have started the Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowships for SC/ST students, who want to enroll for M Phil and Ph D. First of its kind since Independence, it was my initiative as the Member of the Planning Commission. There are 2,000 scholarships, two-thirds for the SCs and one-third for ST students. This scheme will go a long way in enabling them to go for higher education. As for primary education, the drop out rates are the highest among the SC/STs. Though the enrolment rates are increasing, retaining them in school has been difficult. To check this, we have started the Midday Meal scheme. In 2005-06, we have spent Rs 3,700 crore on this scheme and Rs 7,500 crore for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. Nearly 11 crore children are taking mid-day meals in 25 states and this has lowered the drop out rates, particularly among girls. We want that by 2007 all children in the relevant age group are in school and the drop put rates come down further. Q: Do you agree with the view that caste system in urban India is on its way out? A:
Urban relaxation of the caste rigidities is only in relation to the intensity of caste practice in rural areas. There is no fundamental difference. Because of the urban pace of life, people don’t have time to practice caste. To the best of my knowledge, nobody in the country, individual or organisation, is making any genuine effort to abolish the caste system. What is actually being done is cosmetic work. Abolition of caste system and untouchability will first require at the national level a genuine social and cultural reform movement to end century-old prejudices, ill feeling and irrelevant norms and ideas of graded inequality. That is why material incentives are grossly inadequate.
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Indian identity with a global mindset INDIA'S ongoing economic restructuring is aimed at integrating it with the emerging international economic order. Driven by its success in the IT industry, our economy’s traditional primary, secondary and tertiary sectors are perking up too. However, a new credo appropriate to the nascent globalised milieu ought to replace conventional ideologies and isms which are fast becoming obsolete. Is the Indian polity dynamic enough to warrant confidence in its enduring stability, so that it can take its rightful place in the emerging international power hierarchy? Over the years, India’s secular and social fabric hasn’t just frayed at the edges, but has developed gaping holes too. Terrorism and group conflicts have become endemic. Forces of obscurantism are subverting the emergence of a liberal post-modern milieu. Where is the Gandhian vision of a tolerant polity? The creed of assimilation, mutual trust and harmonious co-existence is relevant today wherein every form of human activity should be integrated into an evolving global structure. It’s time to eschew populism. Common secular laws, applicable to all citizens, are essential for the formation of a secular society. Caste panchayats are a threat to a multi-cultural civil society. Medieval mindset and globalisation are antithetical to each other. Scrap all personal laws and bring different religions, castes, sub-castes and tribal groups under the common secular law of the land. All forms of reservations on the basis of caste and religion in employment, professional education or electoral constituencies should be abolished. Meritocracy must rule supreme, making governance near-perfect. All issues must be decided on merit. The school should be a secular platform for disseminating value-based education. We should facilitate young students’ understanding, and practicing of multiculturalism. Education should be strictly a federal subject with rationalism forming its main ingredient. This approach alone can beat the tide of fundamentalism. Once students learn to practice multiculturalism, they can be trusted to develop a secular outlook as citizens. This spirit of scientific inquiry can evolve a culture wherein our political leaders will come under the scanner. If only our voters were educated enough, they wouldn’t have been repeatedly fooled into voting for candidates on the basis of caste and creed by ignoring merit. Identity is essential to an individual for various reasons. It changes as one evolves. Today the traditional caste structure has become irrelevant to the vocation one chooses. If rationalism prevails, even religious and linguistic identities will become redundant. Eventually, one might well see the emergence of an all-India identity in its most genuine form. The next logical step in our collective evolution as a nation would be global citizenship based on the ideals of secularism, peace and progress.
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NCR holds key to Delhi’s survival
IN recent times, Delhi has witnessed an exponential increase in population. It is now more than one crore. The housing crisis, environmental disaster, inadequate medical and educational facilities, traffic and transportation bottlenecks have all aggravated the situation. The increasing number of motor vehicles — over 30 lakh — is another problem. The vehicular emission has led to innumerable pollutants like carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, lead etc which are a serious health hazard to the inhabitants. Delhi today is the world’s fourth largest polluted city. Even though the National Capital Region (NCR) has been formulated to minimise the population and economic activities in Delhi, the adjoining towns and rural settlements are being deprived of adequate finances. There is no development with respect to water, medical, educational and power facilities. This has led to imbalances in the economic development of the towns and rural settlements within the NCR. Greater stress on the planned development of housing, industries, commercial and office establishments has been emphasised in the Delhi Master Plan. Such a phenomenon of excessive planned development is likely to add to the alarming growth of migrants in Delhi during the 21st Century. In addition to greater emphasis on Delhi, the other viable rural and urban centres of NCR will have to be planned and developed in a big way. If Delhi has to survive, the alarming growth of migrants has to be checked through decentralisation of commercial, industrial and office establishments. Delhi’s first Master Plan has spelt out the need for NCR, but decentralisation has not been achieved due to political and bureaucratic interference. There are innumerable offices in Delhi which do not have the ministerial linkages i.e. Coast Guard Headquarters, National Crime Records Bureau (Home Ministry), Central Institute of Research and Training (Ministry of Labour), Department of Publication, CPWD Training Institute etc. Such offices can be shifted to the more viable NCR towns and eventually, through decentralisation, Delhi’s population and economic activities can ensure a balanced process of development. Consequently, Delhi can be freed from the shackles of overcrowding and population explosion. The wholesale trade activity is another aspect which needs attention. It leads to traffic and transportation bottlenecks as the products enter the city first and distributed later in the northern and other parts of the country. If Delhi has to survive, the unwanted wholesale trade should be shifted to the economically viable and well linked towns of NCR. An action-oriented plan suiting the Capital’s needs has become imperative. Delhi is growing fast. Areas like Rohini and Dwarka which were originally agricultural areas have been converted into huge housing complexes. Delhi, for its survival, will swallow whatever is left of the agricultural land leading to ecological imbalance and environmental disaster. Further, the inhabitants will be deprived of open spaces. The vacant land as earmarked in the Master Plan for a specified purpose has turned into slum and squatter settlements to increase the vote banks of the politicians, though the basic provision of public utility services, particularly water supply and toilet facilities, are missing. Delhi’s development in terms of adequate infrastructural, social, economic, housing, medical and educational facilities need to be strengthened in view of the emergence of innumerable satellite towns around the National Capital. If such a possibility is not visualised in the NCR Plan, then the alarming flow of migrants towards Delhi would lead to a complete breakdown of civic services. Another important aspect of planning is that the town and rural areas of NCR should be electrified and provided effective transport linkages in a comprehensive manner. These priorities have to be emphasised while allocating significant financial resources in the context of the NCR Plan. The economic, trade and industrial activities of NCR would be able to create a higher tempo of production, income and employment prospectus. The power sector development in the NCR should be undertaken by a genuine and competent private sector undertaking with a rational pricing policy. There is an imperative need for ensuring a unified administrative and political inter-state coordination council to plan and develop the entire region in a balanced manner. The uniformity of sales tax, power tariff and octroi would enable the NCR Plan to accelerate the tempo of economic activities. Then only Delhi would be able to check the large-scale migration, thereby sustaining the constraints of financial resources in the 21st Century. The writer is a former Senior Research Officer, Union Ministry of Urban Development, New Delhi |
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Profile HARDLY a year back the Government of India’s newly appointed Chief Information Commissioner, Wajahat Habibullah, was himself a victim of what is now sought to be protected in the Right to Information Act. He had written a 9,700-word paper, focussing on Kashmir dispute during his year-long stint with the United States Institute of Peace where he had gone on scholarship. There were several aspects of the paper that needed serious consideration. Habibullah’s opinion on Kashmir dispute ran somewhat contrary to India’s established policy since 1972. His views were not off-the-cuff remarks but contained in a well researched paper, “The Kashmir Problem and its resolution”. Having taken over as Union Textiles Secretary on his return, he was at the receiving end for weeks. Now as CIC, he will have to protect the right of information as well as freedom of speech. What Habibullah then penned in his research papers about the opening of Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road, proved literally correct. Both India and Pakistan threw open the route. “Ending the road closures would not only facilitate the ability of the people of Jammu and Kashmir to function as one regional entity but also improve the effectiveness of any economic development initiatives undertaken in the region”, he had suggested. Evidently, as Habibullah pointed out, key to any solution to the problem lay not in territorial compromises between states, but focussing on the needs of the people on both sides of the border. The Kashmiri people should be made to feel free and be able to run their own lives and this does not mean territorial changes. As the country’s first Chief Information Commissioner, he has been entrusted with the responsibility of implementing the Right to Information Act which opens all official departments across the country to public scrutiny. Information, as per the Act, includes records, documents, files, noting, circulars, orders, contracts and so on. In the words of the noted jurist, Soli Sorabjee, “Lack of transparency was one of the main causes for the all-pervading corruption and the Right to Information would lead to openness, accountability and integrity”. Activist Aruna Roy, who relentlessly campaigned for the Freedom of Information Bill, says now people can legally ask the establishment: “You are spending my money. Render me accounts”. It is believed that the Act would strike at the roots of corruption because corruption breeds in secrecy and multiplies faster at places where accountability is less or nil. For example, if the road leading to your town is washed away in the first rains of the monsoon, you can legally ask: “Who was given the contract to build that road, at what cost and what the terms and conditions were”. Wajahat, as he is popularly known among his friends, is ideally suited for the Chief Information Commissioner’s job. He may have been an IAS officer but he is neither stiff-necked nor arrogant. Those who have known him for years including this columnist can vouch that he is an amiable, accommodative and pleasant person, open to new ideas. Entrusted with the task of implementation of the Right to Information law, the CIC says “the present system in India is based on distrust and the Act would make sure that transparency and trust is restored among citizens”. He has lurking fear that law might be misused but lacunae in the Act will only be known when it becomes fully operational. Having worked in Kashmir for long years in various capacities, few know the state, its ethos and the people so well as scholarly Wajahat does. Unlike many bureaucrats, he was able to establish personal rapport with the people even during the peak of militancy. That’s why, he was always successful as a negotiator. He hit the headlines during the Hazratbal hostage crisis in the early nineties when he had a brush with death. He was Srinagar’s Commissioner then. Returning from a round of negotiations with the militants, holed up inside the shrine, his bulletproof car met with an accident, which some suspected, was pre-planned, and he was badly injured. First report flashed by the agencies said he died in the crash but, as if the God was on his side, he survived miraculously. It needed months of treatment for him to recover. A 1968 batch IAS officer, Wajahat’s first posting in Kashmir was in 1969. G.M. Sadiq was the Chief Minister then. Luckily, Sadiq was a friend of Wajahat’s father, Maj-Gen E. Habibullah and the young officer, hailing from UP, got a good start in his career. It is said that Wajahat played an important role in firming up the Sheikh Abdullah-Indira Gandhi Accord in 1975. Later, Wajahat worked in the Prime Minister’s Office during the tenures of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi and became closer to the Gandhi family. His mother, Begum Hamida Habibullah, too was close to Indira Gandhi and had two terms in the Rajya Sabha. She is nearing 90 and lives in Lucknow, Habibullah’s home town.
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Diversities — Delhi Letter
THERE is news that King Abdullah, the new ruler of Saudi Arabia, who took charge after King Fahd’s death in August, will visit our country. The visit would get much focus for the simple reason that Saudi Arabia is playing a major role in West Asian political scene. This kingdom holds a 20 per cent share of current global exports and has the world’s largest oil reserves. Saudi Arabia is the main energy supplier to us. As a former Indian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Talmiz Ahmad, pointed out, Saudi Arabia stepped in when India faced a crisis of sorts. When Iraq had invaded Kuwait and when there was no likelihood of oil supply from either of the two warring countries, Saudi Arabia stepped in and met with our energy needs. India’s relations with Saudi Arabia were at the peak during the Nehru era but took a low in the following years. Perhaps, there is a chance of a revival now or as they say, “new engagement with India”. This week the Jamia Millia Islamia University held a meet with four former envoys to that desert kingdom. Ambassadors Sudarshan Bhutani, Hamid Ansari, Ishrat Aziz and Talmiz Ahmad spoke of the lesser known aspects — the Saudi royal family’s relationship with the Ulema clergy (not to be overlooked is the fact that this country houses two most important shrines for Muslims across the globe), various aspects of the royal family and the changing scenario. As Talmiz Ahmad and the other three envoys pointed out, “Saudi Arabians are very well informed and are also very much aware about world politics and what’s going on, but they take initiative only in matters in which they are interested. Socially too, changes are taking place. Saudi Arabian women are well travelled and a large section are working, right from careers in teaching to business. The divorce rate is high. If you visit an average Saudi home, their drawing rooms are much like Indians.” The meeting also examined the Saudi-American nexus, with increasing tilt during the reign of the late King Fahd. Let us see what role this country would play in the years to come. Seminar on Premchand In his 125th birth anniversary year, as I have been mentioning in these columns this year, there has been much focus on Munshi Premchand. The Sahitya Akademi organised a four-day international seminar on him (Oct 27-30). Not a single aspect of Premchand seems to have been overlooked — his life and struggles, his writings and their social and political context and their relevance today. As Professor Harish Trivedi narrated recently, when he was travelling by a train which was running eight hours late, there was great restlessness amongst passengers. A father managed to buy for his young son Premchand’s short story collection from one of the book stalls at a small railway station. He said, “as the father started reading out the stories to his son, we all got so absorbed in them that the train journey became less tiresome. Such was the power of Premchand’s writings.” Manager Pandey put it all too blatantly, “what Premchand wrote is happening today. In the world context, see what kind of atrocities the US is unleashing. When you read Premchand, the word ‘British’ comes along, substitute with another word, ‘America’, and you will realise how well it fits in with what it is doing in Iraq.” What came as a pleasant surprise were speakers who spoke of Premchand’s importance in their respective countries. Dagmar Markova from the Oriental Institute at Prague, Thomas de Bruijn put him in the so-called Dutch perspective and another academic from the erstwhile Soviet Union assessed his contributions to literature in the Russian context. One particular aspect that all seminars, discussions and meets on Premchand invariably generate is this: whether Premchand belonged to the Dalits, Leftists or whether he fell in line with the Arya Samaj. Writers like Premchand cannot be fitted into any slot. Premchand wrote from his heart. That’s why he continues to live in the hearts of millions of his readers across the
world.
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Through his past works, he shall return once more to birth, entering whatever form his heart is set on. This mighty soul unborn grows not old, nor dies, for the soul is immortal and fearless. — Sanatana Dharma Oh friend, hope for him while you live, know while you live, understand while you live, understand while you live; for in life lies the secret of — Kabir Every child is a sign of God’s love. — Mother Teresa
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