P E R S P E C T I V E

HARYANA
A leap ahead, two steps back
By Geetanjali Gayatri and Pradeep Sharma
As CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda completes three years of his second term, The Tribune finds Haryana's story is one of paradox. Its development has been phenomenal — per capita income next only to Goa — but social growth is dismal, with women stuck in a time warp, just as the reckless khaps. Two years to the next election, Hooda has much on his plate.

Performance in key sectors
The charges
The defence
The challenges

Some fly, some flap, that’s Hooda’s flock
Though there has been talk of weeding out deadwood, expanding the Cabinet to fill two vacant berths and reshuffling portfolios, it is only used as a ploy to set the cat among the pigeons.
The Haryana Cabinet is a melting pot of sorts, with the dominant flavour being political compulsion. A dash of need, a hint of ego, a grain of caste and it captures all the aromas perfectly. And, it is not difficult to understand why. The Congress fell short of a clear majority and it needed the “unconditional” support of seven Independents to get to the magic figure of 45 in the 90-member House.

HARYANA
A leap ahead, two steps back
By Geetanjali Gayatri and Pradeep Sharma

As CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda completes three years of his second term, The Tribune finds Haryana's story is one of paradox. Its development has been phenomenal — per capita income next only to Goa — but social growth is dismal, with women stuck in a time warp, just as the reckless khaps. Two years to the next election, Hooda has much on his plate.

No self-congratulatory rallies or celebrations, no populist announcements or media blitzkrieg — the third anniversary of Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s second term in government came and went last week without much fanfare.

The run-up to the third anniversary, as it turned out, wasn’t a cakewalk after all. Jat reservation stirs, Maruti arson, gangrapes, khap diktats, land scams — the government was on its toes, the detractors busy training their guns on Hooda, and the Opposition daring the government.

If Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) chief Kuldeep Bishnoi terms Hooda’s tenure as “Congress misrule”, the Leader of Opposition and INLD supremo Om Prakash Chautala insists: “The only achievement of the Congress rule is that land has become the biggest money-spinner and scams are the only existing culture. If an independent agency were to investigate all the land deals, a scam bigger than coalgate and 2G would be unearthed.”

In the line of fire for his inability to assert over an unbridled bureaucracy, the “gentleman politician”, as Hooda is popularly known, is unfazed. His is the first government since Haryana was formed to have repeated a tenure in a state notorious for “Aaya Rams and Gaya Rams”.

Hooda feels his actions speak louder than words. “Development under Congress rule is unparalleled. The gestation period for some projects is long, but we have set the ball rolling. Our first term was about new initiatives while the second has to do with consolidating what we started and building upon it. Inclusive growth for all sections has been our hallmark.”

A state with a “defiled underbelly”, Haryana has galvanised development, infrastructure-building, investment and policy-making, accelerating the growth rate presently pegged at 7.9 per cent (June 2012), against the national growth rate of 6.5 per cent and Punjab’s 5.9 percent for 2011-12. The contribution of the services sector has climbed from 44 per cent in 2004-05 to 51.2 per cent while the share of the primary sector (agriculture) has fallen from 23.3 per cent to 20.7 per cent, implying a shift towards development.

“When we first took the reins of the state in 2005, the power crisis came as a ‘legacy’ and we inherited an education system churning out ‘skill-less’ youth and growing unemployment in a state crying for health and infrastructure. People had lost faith in the government. Rebuilding it was a challenge. That we succeeded is evident because we came back to power again,” Hooda maintains.

From setting up power plants to getting the prestigious IIM, National Institute of Design, a Central university, defence university, an all-girls university and a medical college to impart quality education, the government has delivered. It envisioned the Rajiv Gandhi Education City, special economic zones (SEZs), industrial model townships, stipends in education, nuclear power plant, land pooling scheme (farmers are partners in progress), sports policy and cash-incentive schemes for parents of the girl child. And where did the funds come from? “The money was in the state coffers. The previous governments had neither the intention nor the vision to use it for public welfare. Barring Bansi Lal, nobody did anything for Haryana.”

If the state surged ahead on various development parameters, it fell way behind with its abysmally low sex ratio; it climbed several rungs on many fronts to be among the top performers and lagged when it came to social equality for women; it leapt ahead in agricultural and milk production, shot up several positions in per capita income to be next only to Goa, even as the unfettered khaps went about pronouncing reckless diktats against same-gotra marriages and coming up with preposterous ideas of chowmein and momos inducing rapist tendencies.

Amid success stories Haryana scripted, the contrast between the economic and social index became starker; the chasm between the two ends of the spectrum widened to make it the state government’s biggest dilemma. Add to that the controversies of land dealings, a dissent-riven Congress is struggling to put up a brave face. Sliding law and order and nepotism in government jobs have also compounded the problems. Projects like the SEZ, launched with much aplomb, have been slow to take off. Of the 101 proposed SEZs, the Centre approved 45. However, only four are functional and two are likely to be operational soon. The Rajiv Gandhi Education City is a non-starter.

The coming of industry has created job opportunities, but these are not enough. Facing a paucity of specialists, health is on a weak wicket; school education is nothing to write home about; and a tight grip on law and order is the need of the hour. With two years still to go, the government can brace up to read the writing on the wall.

Performance in key sectors

Industry

The Haryana Industrial and Investment Policy, 2011, is largely credited for nearly 4,300 industrial entrepreneur memoranda, with a projected investment of Rs 75,654.26 crore. Haryana attracted private sector investments (domestic and foreign) of over Rs 3.9 lakh crore, as of June 2012. This is about 87 per cent of the total investments worth Rs 4.5 lakh crore in the state. However, industrial unrest, particularly in the country’s largest car manufacturer Maruti’s Manesar plant, continued to give sleepless nights to the government, accused of handling it “ineptly”. Similarly, the big ticket projects of the government, including the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expressway and the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, continued to move at a snail’s pace. Reliance’s flagship SEZ on 1,400 acres in Gurgaon came a cropper.

Agriculture

The government tried its best to come out of the wheat-paddy cycle by prompting horticulture. Drought-like conditions this year followed the floods of 2010 to set agriculture back. “Despite this, agricultural production is up by 12 per cent this year against the last,” an officer said. The government is finalising a policy aimed at diversification.

Urban development

In the backdrop of the real-estate boom in districts in the National Capital Region, the Town and Country Planning Department was one of the busiest departments in the state, issuing record number of change of land use (CLUs). It came out with the land pooling scheme to make farmers stakeholders in the development of the land proposed to be acquired. However, alleged favours to UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra and realty giant DLF brought its functioning under the scanner. The department came under criticism from whistleblower IAS officer Ashok Khemka for alleged favours to Vadra in the Shikohpur (Gurgaon)-DLF land deal, whose mutation he cancelled. Chautala and Bishnoi say the government has turned a “property dealer in connivance with big realtors”.

Law and order

Crime has become a way of life. DGP Ranjiv Dalal had the longest stint of six years as the chief of the force. “With a record of three murders and two rapes every day and a kidnapping every 10 hours, Haryana is a lawless state where nobody is secure. Where is the police?” asks Chautala. The general perception is that the “casual” approach of the police top brass in dealing with crime has led to a collapse of the system.

The recent spurt in rape cases, their subsequent handling, delayed FIRs and arrests, invited a lot of flak for the police. “Though I think we can do much better in terms of preventing crime, the post-crime dealing of the police has been satisfactory. We have issued strict instructions to register FIRs immediately,” Hooda justifies.

Power

Increase in demand and resultant “power riots”, “faulty” Chinese machinery at the newly commissioned power plants, causing these units to be shut for long durations, translated into power woes for consumers and provided fresh ammunition to the Opposition to nail the Hooda government. “Augmentation in supply exists only on paper and the consumer is paying more. Nearly eight years down the line, the promise of a power-surplus Haryana is unfulfilled,” Bishnoi says. With short-term liabilities of the power distribution companies pegged at Rs 19,000 crore and financial losses at Rs 4,000 crore, the two entities resorted to tariff hike from April 1, 2012, and recovery of fuel surcharge adjustment, even as a restructuring plan is in the offing.

THE CHARGES

The only achievement of the Congress rule is that land has become the biggest money-spinner. If a probe was ordered, a scam bigger than 2G would be unearthed. With a record of three murders and two rapes every day, Haryana is a lawless state.

— Om Prakash Chautala, INLD supremo

The government had turned a property dealer in connivance with big realtors. Augmentation in power supply exists only on paper. Nearly eight years down the line, the promise of a power-surplus Haryana is unfulfilled.

— Kuldeep Bishnoi, HJC chief

THE DEFENCE

Development under us is unparalleled. The gestation period for some projects is long, but we have set the ball rolling. Our first term was about new initiatives while the second is to do with consolidation.

When we took the reins in 2005, power crisis came as a legacy. We can do much better in terms of preventing crime, but the post-crime dealing has been satisfactory.

Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Haryana Chief Minister

THE CHALLENGES

Reassuring industry following the arson at Maruti’s Manesar plant Lawlessness prevails. Crime, especially against women, is rampant Dealing with khaps is not going to be easy Land scams in the light of the DLF-Vadra ‘expose’

Some fly, some flap, that’s Hooda’s flock

Though there has been talk of weeding out deadwood, expanding the Cabinet to fill two vacant berths and reshuffling portfolios, it is only used as a ploy to set the cat among the pigeons.

The Haryana Cabinet is a melting pot of sorts, with the dominant flavour being political compulsion. A dash of need, a hint of ego, a grain of caste and it captures all the aromas perfectly. And, it is not difficult to understand why. The Congress fell short of a clear majority and it needed the “unconditional” support of seven Independents to get to the magic figure of 45 in the 90-member House.

A fortnight after the Cabinet was in place, six deserter MLAs of the Haryana Janhit Congress, too, joined the Hooda flock. Everybody ended up being rewarded, either as a minister or a chief parliamentary secretary. Though there has been talk of weeding out deadwood, expanding the Cabinet to fill two vacant berths and reshuffling portfolios, it is only used as a ploy to set the cat among the pigeons. It snaps the ministers and the “wannabes” out of their slumber as they flutter their wings, make their presence felt, breathe life into sagging egos of Congressmen before it ends up being shelved.

Chief Minister Hooda, the astute politician that he has evolved to be, has chosen to “decentralise” working and delegate authority, which matters little, to his Cabinet while he manages “bigger things”.

— Geetanjali Gayatri

Cabinet Ministers

Harmohinder Singh Chatha
Finance and Irrigation Minister

Age is not on his side and expecting him to rattle out statistics is like hoping to walk on water. He was a minister in the first term of the Hooda government. He was initially made Speaker of the Vidhan Sabha. He eyed a Cabinet berth all along. Chatha was made minister in 2011.

Capt Ajay Singh Yadav
Power Minister

He’s on now, off the next moment, fluctuating just the way the electricity that the power department supplies. He can be the sharpest critic of the government on one day and then lie so low, he’s almost lost, before he loses his voice.

Randeep Singh Surjewala
Industries and Public Works Minister

A sauve Jat who can talk his way in and out of anything, he’s well established as the Hooda government’s Man Friday. During the 2005 elections, he was in the race for the Chief Minister’s post. He’s the government’s first line of defence or attack. While Hooda is using Surjewala’s oratory skills to the hilt, the latter has to content with the second-in-command tag.

Mahender Pratap Singh
Food and Supplies Minister

He’s cool as a cucumber. Whether he’s replying to the trickiest question pertaining to his department in the Vidhan Sabha or holding a meeting, or even disagreeing with the powers that be, his expression is unchanged. Initially seen as a Hooda detractor, he has chosen to focus on his politics in Faridabad rather than in the Congress.

Kiran Choudhry
Excise and Taxation Minister

Hooda’s bete noir in the first term, she first flagged the “lopsided development” issue. Known for her no-nonsense approach to work, she’s built a few bridges with Hooda. She could not make it in the first round of ministers, but got her way in 2011 and got “handpicked” departments.

Paramvir Singh
Agriculture Minister

Known for his closeness to Hooda, he carries on his politics in “legacy mode”. In a state where agriculture is the main occupation, this minister prefers “keeping to himself”. Even at meetings he himself calls, he maintains a studied silence.

Geeta Bhukkal
Education Minister

A first-time minister, she has her hands full. The quality of school education is a matter of concern despite all the money being pumped in. The job is not easy, especially in Haryana where women or their issues do not form the picture at all.

Rao Narinder
Health Minister

He has no panacea to cure the ailments of a “sick” health sector. The health department is “under the weather” for want of qualified doctors; sex ratio is low; and foeticide The minister can’t seem to get his act together.

Satpal Sangwan
Housing and Cooperation Minister

An HJC MLA who "merged" along with the breakaway group to support the Congress, Sangwan earned his place in the Cabinet expansion of 2011. Known to essentially stick to his constituency, he prefers the leave-me-alone philosophy and hardly ever speaks of policies he may be visualising in his ministry.

Ministers of State

They are rarely seen and hardly ever heard, unless "saying" something becomes essential. Though they attend office regularly, signing files, whether or not it translates into some lasting contribution, is immaterial. The bureaucrats, of course, are there to run the show.