The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Tata Camelot verdict
Chandigarh emerges helpless

The Punjab and Haryana High Court’s conditional go-ahead to the Tata Camelot project has raised critical issues. The foremost is the “helplessness” of the Chandigarh Administation in dealing with violations of the periphery Act. The UT Administration watched mutely as the Punjab government set up the Nayagaon notified area committee, legalising unauthorised housing colonies in Chandigarh’s neighbourhood. Punjab’s master plan for the area barred the construction of high-rise buildings within 1 km of the Capitol Complex, leaving out the Tata project coming within the 1.9 km radius. This was understandable since 102 Punjab politicians wanted the Tata project to come up on the land their housing society had sold at a hefty premium.

The UT Administration failed to challenge the Nayagaon-Kansal master plan. This weakened its objection to the Camelot project. During the trial Justice Mahesh Grover observed that the court had been given the impression that the UT authorities had “abdicated their responsibilities”. The UT counsel’s argument of the project being a threat to Chandigarh’s heritage did not find favour with the Bench which felt “heritage cannot be made the foundation of a judicial order”. Another plea that Camelot was against the edict of Le Corbusier was rejected on the ground that Corbusier’s wish did not amount to an “edict”. The coordination committee of representatives from Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana did object to the project coming up in Sukhna Lake’s catchment area, but it had no “legal sanctity” to challenge a statute.

Regularisation of illegal colonies is common in Punjab and Haryana, and largely responsible for the chaotic growth of cities and towns. It would be naïve to believe the governments in Punjab and Haryana would act firmly in future to deny clearances to questionable projects coming up in the periphery of Chandigarh. Given the pressure of a rising population and a growing demand for housing, there is need to jointly develop Chandigarh and its neighbouring areas under a larger plan, providing for basic amenities, infrastructure and luxuries of life. Urbanisation is inevitable but without planning, it could make living nightmarish.

Home abroad
NRIs need help, not tamasha

The recent case of an NRI couple seeking custody of their children from the Norwegian authorities has taken many twists and turns. In the process, some lacunas have been exposed in the interaction between the Indian missions in various countries and the non-resident Indians who live in those nations. As such, it is indeed a welcome step that the External Affairs Ministry is talking of appointing welfare officers who will provide assistance to the NRIs who need their help.

The media, especially electronic, did not conduct itself with restraint. In the process, it laid itself open to the charge of sensationalism. Seen with the 20-20 vision of hindsight, most news anchors were over-aggressive, and commentators not quite sensitive to the intricacies of the laws and norms that govern international interaction, at the level of governments, institutions and individuals. There is a temptation to jump into the pool and grab what is trending at the moment. This needs to be resisted, as should instantaneous pronouncements also. The credibility of the media depends on the accuracy of its reporting and the sagacity of the views reflected in it. It is always difficult to keep a long-term perspective when one is dealing with fast-developing stories, but that is where the skill of a mediaperson lies.

Television today has a vast audience and has the ability to influence public opinion in such a manner that it can even change public policy. This also places an enormous burden on the people who handle the medium, Thus, be it the Norway custodial case, hate crime cases in Australia or the plethora of crimes in India, a measured response to events is an imperative. The public looks towards the media for information, and what the media says shapes its perceptions. In the Norway custody case, it now seems that the hype was not justified, and what seemed like a crusade then looks like a tamasha now. It is time to take a look at what happened and draw right lessons from it, just as the External Affairs Ministry has done.

Thought for the Day

Always keep an open mind and a compassionate heart. — Phil Jackson

ARTICLE

India's Sri Lanka vote
It is pressure without offence
by S.D. Muni

In view of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statement on the Sri Lankan issue, in reply to the debate on the President's address, that India was "inclined to vote for the resolution if it covers our objectives", India's vote at the UN Human Rights Council has not come as a surprise. But in this vote India has for the first time favoured a country's specific move on human rights in international bodies. This may indicate India's growing confidence in dealing with the international community on human rights' issues related to its own internal conflicts. Yet, before voting for it, India ensured that the resolution was divested of its "intrusive" provisions that could offend Sri Lanka's sensitivity towards its sovereign rights in dealing with domestic issues of conflict management.

Accordingly, the resolution clearly stipulated that the UN High Commission for Human Rights could provide "advice and technical assistance" in the implementation of the resolution only in "consultation with and concurrence of " the Sri Lankan government, and it would have no role to monitor Colombo's actions in this regard. India also broke ranks with its many immediate and extended Asian neighbours on this vote. Pakistan, Bangladesh, and the Maldives as also Indonesia and Thailand voted against the resolution, while Malaysia, which has a sizeable Tamil population, abstained. The resolution, even in its diluted form, brings Sri Lanka under international accountability, and urges upon the government to deliver on its promised "political settlement" of the ethnic issue through "justice" and "devolution of power".

India's vote has generally been seen as driven by the pressures of the UPA government's Tamil allies. This is no doubt so. The Central government led by the Congress looks helpless and vulnerable during the critical budget session, in the face of its strident allies like the Trinamool Congress of Mamata Banerjee (on the rail fare hike issue). Mamata Banerjee in September 2011 had embarrassed Prime Minister Singh during his visit to Bangladesh on the question of the Teesta river water sharing agreement. This was, however, not for the first time that the Centre has conceded ground to its Tamil allies on the Sri Lankan issue. In 2005, the UPA government could not sign an already negotiated Defence Cooperation Agreement with Sri Lanka. Earlier, the NDA government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had to put quota restrictions on the import of tea under the influence of southern lobbies while concluding the Free Trade Agreement in 1998. India is passing through a phase of coalition politics in which the Centre is losing its foreign policy autonomy in relation to immediate neighbours under pressure from regional allies.

Though foreign policy fragmentation under federal imperatives appears to be a growing trend in India by now, India's vote against Sri Lanka could be seen beyond the shadow of coalition constraints. There was the US factor too. The resolution on Sri Lanka was sponsored by the US. India has been working in close consultation and some coordination with the US on many critical areas affecting its close neighbours. Such consultations are evident on Pakistan and Afghanistan, and they could also be discerned vis-à-vis the mainstreaming of the Maoists in Nepal.

Last month India and the US worked together in responding to the Maldives crisis. At the moment when the Iran issue continues to irritate India and the US, the Sri Lanka vote has provided a gentle touch to India's strategic partnership with the US. Moreover, diluting the resolution’s intrusive aspects could not have been possible without coordination with the US. Taking note of this, Sri Lankan Foreign Minister G.L. Peris in his reaction to the UNHRC vote blamed India, without naming it, for succumbing to its "domestic politics and strategic alliance" at the cost of substantive aspects of Sri Lanka's position.

India's vote to bring Sri Lanka under international accountability on the Tamil issue also reflected New Delhi's dilemma in dealing with Sri Lanka's obstinacy in heeding its advice. Prime Minister Singh, in response to the criticism from Sri Lanka of India's vote in Geneva, said: "What we did was in line with our stand. We do not want to infringe upon the sovereignty of Sri Lanka, but our concerns should be expressed so that Tamil people can get justice and live a life of dignity.” Reiterating this line in his letter to President Rajapaksa, the Prime Minister has expressed respect for Sri Lanka's sovereignty and concerns, while appealing for a "meaningful devolution package building upon the 13th Amendment".

Even after three years of the elimination of the LTTE, and repeated requests by India, President Rajapaksa's government in Colombo does not seem to be moving concretely in the direction of political resolution of the Tamil issue and implementation of the 13th constitutional amendment accepted way back in 1987. India's Sri Lanka policy on the Tamil issue has been losing its leverage gradually due to a number of factors, like India's growing economic stakes in Sri Lanka, strengthening of the hardliner Singhala constituencies in Rajapaksa's power structure and the fragmentation of representative Tamil groups. Since its decisive war against the LTTE in 2008-09, Sri Lanka has also been subtly playing a China card to keep Indian pressures on the Tamil issue at bay.

In such a situation, the Indian vote in Geneva endorses international pressure on Sri Lanka for advancing the cause of justice to the Tamils. At the same time, India has tried to soften Sri Lanka's hurt feelings through the dilution of the resolution's intrusive aspects and a personal letter by the Prime Minister to explain India's position to President Rajapaksa. The latter aspects also ensure that India's vital economic and strategic stakes in Sri Lanka are not damaged through emotional reactions of the majority Sinhala community. The horrendous experience of the outbursts of anti-Indianism and burning of Indian property and products in Sri Lanka in 1989 in protest against the withdrawal of the IPKF may be recalled here. For the present vote, the Sri Lankans are all ready on anti-west nationalist mode and are asking for a boycott of American products.

One hopes that India's vote with its concomitant explanation will nudge the Sri Lanka in a positive direction. Despite the din and dust of critical comments raised in Sri Lanka, both officially and unofficially, the policy makers in Sri Lanka know that there is much at stake in its relations with India, both economically and strategically. Alienating India because of the UNHRC vote, while New Delhi still wants to remain constructively engaged, may prove to be costly in the long run for Sri Lanka.n

The writer is Visiting Research Professor, Institute of South Asian Studies, Singapore.

MIDDLE

Chilling tale of a ‘katori’
by Gitanjali Sharma

This is the chilling tale of a ‘katori’, in her own words:

I relish my stay in the well-ventilated kitchen surrounded by my kin and friends on the cabinet shelf. The filtered sunlight coats me with a warmth that keeps me snug through the day. This bliss, alas, is fleeting.

The other day the mistress of the house cooked cabbage for lunch. She and her husband savoured the calcium-rich leaves, though their 11-year-old sonny, not surprisingly, balked at the mere sight of the yellowish-greens. He listlessly pecked at the black dal with his trademark disinterest reserved for the dining table.

With some cabbage remaining in the serving bowl after lunch, the mistress reached out for me after clearing the table. I cringed as I bore the weight of the leafy remnants and was packed off to the stifling confines of the steel grey refrigerator. With 12 winters behind me, I knew what lay in store for me in that oppressive storage box. At best it could be termed punishment posting, at worst solitary confinement.

The hellish days ahead went thus. During dinner on Day 1, I was taken out of the near-zero temperatures along with a few other ‘katoris’ which had been in the chill zone for two-three days. One of them with paneer scored over me as it made its way to the oven, the table and then the dishwasher. I forlornly returned to the fridge untouched. Too soon to have cabbage again, I heard one of the family members sigh.

Day 2 around 1 pm, I was again taken out … but lost out to fresh ‘koftas’ for lunch and was shunted back to the freezing lock-up.

Another two-day wait before my ordeal would come to a close, I muttered to myself. As expected on Day 3, I was again vanquished by greener greens and fresher food. This time I wasn’t even spared a glance. Just unceremoniously dumped back and pushed to the farthest corner of the fridge.

On Day 4, I was miserable. The cabbage lay all shrivelled and was beginning to smell muggy. Today I wasn’t even taken out, for the family was going out for lunch and in the evening there was a wedding to attend.

With little to do, I dozed off out of sheer boredom and discontent.

On Day 5, I could have cried with joy. The judgment day had arrived. The mistress opened the jail door bristling. With an exasperated tch-tch, she exclaimed: “What is this cabbage doing here for so long. Off with it.” Soon the cabbage lay in a tiny mound in the bin and I regained my lost pride, ensconced on the cabinet shelf.

Small respite here till the next five days of ping-pong battle begins in and out of the fridge. The stay of each ‘katori’ with leftovers in the chilly confines lasts a minimum of four days, not less…. Till it is ready to be chucked out to yield place for more of its ilk.

OPED ECONOMY

Regardless of their political colour, Punjab leaders wasted their five-year terms in power by indulging in competitive populism and vendetta politics, ignoring imperatives of fast development and good governance.
Enough of populism, now try growth
Ranjit Singh Ghuman

Once a fast-growing state, enjoying a very high growth rate and the highest per capita income in the country, Punjab is now lagging behind many states, both in terms of growth and per capita income. Somewhere down the lane, the state has lost its growth momentum.

The share of agriculture in Punjab's workforce and Gross Domestic Product has seen a steady decline. Tribune photo JS Virdi

The deterioration in governance and work culture since the period of militancy has not been corrected. The decade-long phase of militancy changed the state's orientation from development to law and order. Consequently, the growth fundamentals, such as the ratio of investment to the state's income, got weakened because of which the state's growth rate started decelerating, especially since the Eighth Five Year Plan (1992-97). Since then Punjab's growth rate has been lower than the national average.

Increasing unemployment and under-employment have added to the number of the poor in Punjab. Currently 19 per cent population of Punjab is below the poverty line. In spite of the remarkable success of the Green Revolution agriculture is no more a key growth driver. The share of agriculture and dairying in the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) declined from 57 per cent in 1970-71 to nearly 28 per cent in 2009-10. Agriculture alone accounted for only 19 per cent of the GSDP and dairying accounted for 8.5 per cent.

The share of agricultural workforce in the total workforce (cultivators and labourers) in Punjab declined from 62 per cent in 1971 to 39 per cent in 2001. It must have gone down further in the 2011 Census. Both in terms of contribution to the GSDP and the share of the workforce, Punjab is no longer a predominantly agrarian economy.

What went wrong
The political leadership, the bureaucracy and policy-makers continued to bask in the success of the Green Revolution, which started losing its sheen towards the mid-1980s. They thought that agriculture would continue to be the key growth driver and, hence, did not make any conscious efforts to spread the agrarian revolution to the development of the secondary and tertiary sectors.

Efforts were made to diversify agriculture (mainly crop diversification) but even those were half-hearted. What the state needed was to diversify the economy by vertically integrating agricultural produce with industry. The strong industrial base could have given an impetus to the development of agro-industry in Punjab. But we missed the train.

It was mainly because of lack of political will and vision that the investment climate could not become investor-friendly. The shortage of energy (for the last well over 15 years we did not add any capacity to power generation), which is a pre-requisite to development, also discouraged investors.

The state has lost an enormous amount of investment in contrast to the national average and well-performing states. It has the lowest investment-GSDP ratio among the 14 major states of India. In 1995-96, Punjab invested 24 per cent of its income as compared to 26.6 per cent in India. This gap went on increasing during the subsequent years and in 2007-08 the investment-GDP ratios in India and Punjab were 37.7 per cent and 18.7 per cent, respectively.

Due to this gap Punjab has lost an investment to the tune of nearly Rs. 9,500 crore per annum (a total of Rs. 1, 32,958 crore) during 1995-96 and 2008-09. It is significant to note that investment is another name of growth. On the basis of adverse credit-deposit ratio, the state has lost a whooping sum of Rs. 25,900 crore per annum or a total of Rs. 3, 62,600 crore during the same period.

Human development slows
Punjab could not mobilise adequate resources for the state exchequer and public investment, particularly from the 1980s onwards. The spending procedures and priorities along with an ever-rising committed expenditure aggravated the problem. The state's tax-GSDP ratio is hovering around 9 per cent whereas a good number of other states are recording a tax-GSDP ratio of 10 to 18 per cent. At the present level of per capita income, Punjab should raise its tax-GSDP ratio to at least 15 per cent.

Both the revenue and fiscal deficits are continuously increasing. The debt burden of the state increased from Rs. 48,000 crore in 2006-07 to Rs. 75,000 crore in 2010-11 and is likely to go up to Rs. 80,000 crore by the end of the current financial year.

The fertile land and human resources are the only strengths of Punjab. Here, too, the state has chosen a wrong path. Nearly 22 per cent of the state budget was being spent on education during the 1970s, which declined to 18 per cent during the 1980s and further dwindled to 12 to 13 per cent in later years. A misconception that the private sector would take care of education and the state's shrinking capacity to finance education have led to such a situation.

Consequently, a large number of teachers' posts have remained vacant in government schools, particularly in the rural areas, for long periods. It has led to a virtual collapse of rural school education. Higher education is no exception. As regards research and development (R&D), the Punjab government is spending only 3 per cent of its budget.

It has been found that 69 per cent of the rural households (90 per cent labourer households) do not have even a single member with a matriculation qualification. The rural students have almost been excluded from higher education as their share in universities and higher professional education varies between 3.7 and 4 per cent. Such a scenario will not only have an adverse effect on growth but also go against the spirit of inclusive growth. The health scenario is no better. We must understand that human capital alone could be the future growth driver for Punjab.

Lack of political will
The foregoing discussion compels one to believe as if the state leadership -- irrespective of the political affiliation -- has not only abandoned the development and governance agenda but also lost the political will. They are getting trapped in the vicious circle of competitive political populism and vendetta politics. Such policy is neither pro-development nor sustainable. The situation has reached such a stage that all political parties and the government are suffering from a serious loss of credibility. There is a serious crisis of governance and the state's institutional framework has nearly collapsed.

Unfortunately, there does not seem to be any reversal and resurgence. The election manifestos of the major political parties are also devoid of any vision and road map for the state's growth. It is painful to note that the political leadership, policy-makers and the bureaucracy are having a myopic view of development.

The way out
Almost everyone in Punjab is convinced that the Punjab economy, which has derailed from the development track, needs to be put back on track. The first thing to be done is to change the state's orientation from law and order to development. The state must have its vision and road map for development -- both in the medium and long terms.

The new government must rise above politics of vendetta and misplaced populism. Instead, there is an urgent need for capacity building in physical and social infrastructure. Additional resource mobilisation and rational spending policies are equally important. The institutional frame work, including activation and strengthening of the Punjab State Planning Board, must be put in place. The state needs to have a think tank for having policy inputs and a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis. This would require a political consensus and efficient governance.

What needs to be done
n Mobilise additional resources to the tune of 30 to 35 per cent by better tax compliance and diversifying the tax base.
n Diversify the economy in general and the rural economy in particular by a vertical integration of agricultural produce with industry and developing rural the non-farm sector.
n Increase investment (both public and private) in agricultural research and extension so as to move from low-value to high-value crops.
n Strengthen physical infrastructure, particularly energy and connectivity.
n Construction of missing rail links such as Rajpura-SAS Nagar to provide rail connectivity for the Malwa region of Punjab to Chandigarh.
n Raise public funding of education and health delivery to make these affordable and accessible.
n Open up the Wagah and Hussainiwala borders for trade with Pakistan and beyond as it would convert the border disadvantage into an advantage by generating enormous economic activities.
n Take up the debt burden with the Centre apart from making efforts to reduce it at the state level.
n Prevail upon the Union Government to include Punjab in the list of special category states in view of its being close to the border and a provider of food security.
n Prevail upon the Centre to restructure its tax-sharing formula in view of the state's contribution to food security.
n Rationalise subsidies and freebies so that these could reach the targeted groups.
n Stop subsidising the rich people across the board.
n Last but not least, soil health and sub-soil water need to be preserved and better managed.

The writer is a Professor, Nehru SAIL Chair, Centre for Research in Rural & Industrial Development (CRRID), Chandigarh