And, We're Still Developing!

CENSUS: A nation of 1.21 billion; High growth, few jobs; Will milk fortification benefit the poor? Private sector wants to adopt public health bodies; Land acquisition! Is it democratically justified? India losing biodiversity hotspots ..

Well, these aren't thoughts of a stagnant mind. Such queries stimulate directly from the policies established by the Central Government. It's not about who forms the government; rather, it's about the righteous form of government. Nothing will sound strange or stunning, if I say that current policies of government are actually based on the one made in 1950. As a matter of fact, the same constitution was followed till 1991. Amendments were made in 1992. 2011, we follow the same with few more amendments. We don't need amendments in the constitution, only. Something greater must be done to revive the policies and laws. 

Violence and pace of land acquisition in Uttar Pradesh underscore serious flaws in the law. Fertile land is up for grabs in western Uttar Pradesh. Private developers are acquiring it to build apartments, industries, IT institutes, and even F1 race track. Farmers, who have known no profession other than agriculture, have nowhere to go. The landless are left with no farms to work on. On the contrary, government has quoted a pricing system to benefit the farmers. A Greater Noida farmer gets about Rs. 820 per sq metre for parting with his land. As the distance from Greater Noida increases, the amount decreases. In Tappal, a district near Noida, for instance, a farmer gets Rs. 570 per sq metre for his land. The amount a Greater Noida farmer gets translates to about Rs. 8.2 million per hectare. When the same land is developed into apartments, the cheapest rate the Authority gives to a developer is Rs. 35,000 per square metre or Rs. 350 million per hectare. So what is the agenda of Mayawati's govrnment in Uttar Pradesh? To make business by holding an office of no profit. 

We all know about the agitation by the farmers from May 7 2011 to May 12 2011. Urgency clause under Section 17 of the Land Acquisition Act was enforced. The clause allows government to acquire land without giving land owners the right to a hearing. There is no uniformity in the land rates offered to farmers. In Greater Noida, farmers got much more than what those in Aligarh received for the same project. Even if farmers on an average gets Rs. 0.75 crore, what about those who don't own any land and earn their living by working on other's land. In fact, a large section belongs to this fraternity.  

People in the villages around Ratlam are paying a heavy price for living near the industrial town in Madhya Pradesh. Their groundwater has been polluted by over 23,500 tonnes of hazardous waste dumped at two factory (Sajjan Chemical and Investment (pvt) Ltd and Jayant Vitamins which closed over a decade ago due to management problems) premises and other sites in Ratlam. The quantity of toxic waste lying at the defunct Union Carbide plant in Bhopal city—350 tonnes—is only a fraction of Ratlam’s toxic legacy. Another study by Madhya Pradesh’s State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) in 2007 showed the soil in the area has been contaminated with organic pollutants like naphthalene and binaphyle sulfone. More recently, in March 2011, a study by the PHE department found the total dissolved solids (TDS) and iron levels in groundwater were way beyond permissible limits. The TDS level in some of the samples was about 3,000 mg/litre; its permissible limit is 2,000 mg/litre. The water is red mainly because of iron, which along with other contaminants makes it unfit for consumption. And as usual, authorities have failed to act.

These are some of the issues taken out from shinning India's magic box. 

One quick question: Can we give Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Azad, his India @ 2020 in this scenario? 

• Number of people, in India, who are below poverty line = 30 crore approx.
• Number of people, in India, who are unemployed = 30 crore approx.
• JOBS which need to be created every year, to fulfil the aspirations of the people of India = 1 crore
• Number of people, in India, who are below 35 years of age = 70 crore

(http://www.wakeupcall.org/administration_in_india/poverty_line.php)

No doubt, that the growth has taken a formidable shape. But that won't bring India down from the top rank, among the corrupt nations. Myth or fact, $1.5 trillion of Indian money in Swiss Banks? 

And still the government isn't aggressive enough. Is that the change our forefathers dreamt of? Is this what we dream for our shinning India? 

Cause of worry for India

• Share of total employment in agriculture decreased from 63.3 per cent to 55.7 per cent between 1995 and 2008
   
• Share of employment in industry increased marginally from 11.2 per cent to 12.8 per cent between 1995 and 2008
   
• Share of employment in the services sector increased marginally from 21.3 per cent to 25 per cent
   
• Real wages in this period grew marginally from -1.8 per cent to 0.7 per cent

(http://www.downtoearth.org.in/node/2242)

I would like development to start in the villages. It would be an incentive for people to stay. Development should be what you gain in the long run. It's like success, no short-cuts.