പി. കിഷോര്‍ / മനോരമ ബിസിനസ് ന്യൂസ്
17.05.2011
അഞ്ചുകൊല്ലത്തിലൊരിക്കല്‍ യുഡിഎഫ് അധികാരത്തില്‍ വരുമ്പോള്‍ കേരളത്തിന്റെ സമ്പദ് വ്യവസ്ഥയില്‍ ചലനങ്ങള്‍ ഉണ്ടാവുക പതിവാണ്. ബിസിനസ് രംഗത്ത് ആവേശം പടരുകയും പുതിയ നിക്ഷേപ പദ്ധതികള്‍ക്കു ജീവന്‍ വയ്ക്കുകയും ചെയ്യും. റിയല്‍ എസ്റ്റേറ്റ് മേഖലയില്‍ കുതിപ്പുണ്ടാവും. ഭരണത്തില്‍ തന്നെ വേറൊരു തരം സംസ്ക്കാരം വരുന്നതിനാല്‍ ഓട്ടോകളും ടാക്സികളും കൂടുതല്‍ ഓടും. ഹോട്ടലുകളില്‍ അതിഥികള്‍ നിറയും, റസ്റ്ററന്റുകളില്‍ ആളുകൂടും. പ്രതീക്ഷകള്‍ വളരും. പക്ഷേ നേരിയ ഭൂരിപക്ഷം മാത്രം ഉള്ളതിനാല്‍ ഇക്കുറി ബിസിനസ് സമൂഹം സംശയിച്ചു നില്‍ക്കുകയാണ്.
ഭരണത്തിന്റെ ആദ്യ 100 ദിവസം എങ്ങനെയുണ്ടെന്നത് ബിസിനസ് സമൂഹം ഉറ്റുനോക്കുമെന്നു വിദഗ്ധര്‍ ചൂണ്ടിക്കാണിക്കുന്നു. തീരുമാനങ്ങള്‍ ഉണ്ടാവുന്നുണ്ടോ, മാറ്റങ്ങള്‍ വരുന്നുണ്ടോ, നിക്ഷേപാവസരങ്ങളോടുള്ള സമീപനം എങ്ങനെ എന്നതനുസരിച്ചാവും സാമ്പത്തിക വളര്‍ച്ച. നിലവില്‍ കേരളം സാമ്പത്തിക വളര്‍ച്ചയില്‍ ഇന്ത്യയില്‍ ഒന്‍പതാം സ്ഥാനത്താണ്. സ്വകാര്യ നിക്ഷേപം പൂജ്യം എന്നു പറയേണ്ടി വരും. ഭൂരിപക്ഷം സംസ്ഥാനങ്ങളുടേയും താഴെ തട്ടിലാണു കേരളം.
അതു മാറണമെങ്കില്‍ പിടിവാശി പോയി പ്രായോഗികത വരണമെന്നു ചൂണ്ടിക്കാണിക്കപ്പെടുന്നു. കേന്ദ്ര ഫണ്ട് കാര്യമായി കിട്ടുന്ന അനേകം പദ്ധതികള്‍ കാത്തു നില്‍ക്കുന്നുണ്ട്.ഇവയെല്ലാം പിപിപി പദ്ധതികളാണ്. കൊച്ചി മെട്രോ ഉദാഹരണം. സര്‍ക്കാര്‍ തന്നെ ചെയ്യണമെന്ന പിടിവാശി ഉപേക്ഷിച്ച് പൊതു-സ്വകാര്യ പങ്കാളിത്തം സമ്മതിച്ചാല്‍ പതിനായിരം കോടിയാണു മെട്രോയിലൂടെ കൊച്ചിയിലെത്തുക.
ഹൈവേ വികസനം നടക്കാതായതോടെ ദേശീയ ഹൈവേ അതോറിറ്റി ഓഫിസുകള്‍ പൂട്ടി ജീവനക്കാരെ മറ്റു സംസ്ഥാനങ്ങളിലേക്കു സ്ഥലം മാറ്റുന്ന കാഴ്ചയായിരുന്നു കഴിഞ്ഞ മാസം കണ്ടത്. സ്ഥലം ഏറ്റെടുത്തു കൊടുത്ത് ബിഒടി പദ്ധതിയിലെ തടസങ്ങള്‍ നീക്കിയാല്‍ വീതികൂട്ടാന്‍ മറ്റൊരു പതിനായിരം കോടി റോഡില്‍ വീഴും. ചീമേനി വൈദ്യുത പദ്ധതിയും അതിവേഗ റയില്‍ കോറിഡോറും മറ്റ് പിപിപി പദ്ധതികളാണ്.
പരമാവധി സ്വകാര്യനിക്ഷേപം കൊണ്ടു വരുമെന്നാണ് യുഡിഎഫ് പ്രകടന പത്രിക. സ്വകാര്യമേഖലയില്‍ ഒറ്റ സെസ് പോലും പ്രവര്‍ത്തിക്കാത്ത ഏക സംസ്ഥാനം കേരളമാണ്. ഐടിയില്‍ മൂന്നു സ്വകാര്യ സെസുകള്‍ക്ക് അനുമതി ആയിട്ടുണ്ടെന്നു മാത്രം.
മറ്റു സംസ്ഥാനങ്ങളില്‍ സ്വകാര്യമേഖലയിലാണു ഡസന്‍കണക്കിനു സെസുകള്‍ വന്നത്. കേരളത്തിലാകട്ടെ, സ്വകാര്യമേഖലയിലെ സെസുകള്‍ക്കു സംസ്ഥാന സര്‍ക്കാര്‍ 2009 വരെ എന്‍ഒസി കൊടുക്കാതിരിക്കുകയായിരുന്നു. പിന്നീടു കേന്ദ്ര സെസ് നിയമത്തില്‍ നിന്നു വ്യത്യസ്തമായി അനേകം നിയന്ത്രണങ്ങള്‍ കൂട്ടിച്ചേര്‍ത്ത് സെസ് നയം ഉണ്ടാക്കി. സെസിനുള്ളിലെ കെട്ടിടങ്ങള്‍ക്ക് അതതു പഞ്ചായത്തുകളുടെ അനുമതി പോലും നിര്‍ബന്ധമാക്കി. ഇതിലൊക്കെയാണു മാറ്റം വരേണ്ടത്. ശോഭ ഹൈടെക് സിറ്റിയും (3000 കോടി) സലാര്‍പുരിയ പദ്ധതിയും (1500 കോടി) അതുപോലെ കാത്തുകിടക്കുകയാണ്.
റിയല്‍ എസ്റ്റേറ്റ് മാഫിയ എന്ന ചീത്തപ്പേരിട്ടു വിളിക്കുന്ന കെട്ടിട നിര്‍മ്മാണ മേഖലയിലാണ് ഉണര്‍വ് പ്രതീക്ഷിക്കുന്നത്. കേരളത്തില്‍ ഏറ്റവും കൂടുതല്‍ പേര്‍ക്കു തൊഴിലും സര്‍ക്കാരിനു നികുതിയും സ്റ്റാമ്പ് ഡ്യൂട്ടിയും മറ്റും നല്‍കുന്ന മേഖലയാണിത്. കെട്ടിട നിര്‍മ്മാണ ചട്ടങ്ങളില്‍ 2009 ഡിസംബറില്‍ കൊണ്ടുവന്ന ഭേദഗതി ഈ മേഖലയില്‍ മരവിപ്പിനിടയാക്കിയതായി നിര്‍മ്മാതാക്കള്‍ പറയുന്നു. ചട്ടങ്ങള്‍ വീണ്ടും ഉദാരമാക്കുമെന്ന പ്രതീക്ഷ ഈ വ്യവസായ രംഗത്തുണ്ട്.
സ്വാശ്രയ കോളജുകള്‍ ഇനിയും പുതിയ മേഖലകളില്‍ വരാനുണ്ട്. നിയമപഠന രംഗത്ത് സ്വാശ്രയ നിക്ഷേപം ഇനിയും അനുവദിച്ചിട്ടില്ല. സ്വാശ്രയത്തോടുള്ള ഒതുക്കല്‍ സമീപനം മാറുകയും പാര്‍ലമെന്റില്‍ അവതരിപ്പിച്ചിട്ടുള്ള വിദ്യാഭ്യാസ ബില്ലുകള്‍ പാസാവുകയും ചെയ്യുന്നതോടെ ഈ രംഗത്ത് കുതിപ്പിനു സാധ്യതയുണ്ട്. സ്വകാര്യ സര്‍വകലാശാലകള്‍ക്കും വിദേശ സര്‍വകലാശാലകളുടെ ക്യാംപസുകള്‍ക്കും അവസരം ഒരുങ്ങും.
യൂണിയനിസവും കുപ്രസിദ്ധിയും മാത്രം കൈമുതലായുള്ള കുറേ സര്‍വകലാശാലകളും അവയ്ക്ക് നിലവാരമില്ലാത്ത നൂറുകണക്കിന് അഫിലിയേറ്റഡ് കോളജുകളും എന്ന നിലവിലെ സ്ഥിതിയില്‍ മാറ്റം വരാതെ കേരളത്തിലെ വിദ്യാര്‍ഥികള്‍ക്കു രക്ഷയില്ല. നിലവാരമുള്ള വിദ്യാഭ്യാസം ഇനി സ്വകാര്യമേഖലയിലാണ്. എജ്യുപ്രണര്‍ എന്ന വാക്കു തന്നെ പുതുതായി ഉണ്ടായിട്ടുണ്ട്. വിദ്യാഭ്യാസരംഗത്തെ നിക്ഷേപകരാണ് എജ്യൂപ്രണര്‍മാര്‍.
എല്ലാറ്റിലും ഉപരി കേന്ദ്രവുമായി ഉടക്കിനു പകരം സഹകരണം ആവുന്നതോടെ അനേകം പദ്ധതികള്‍ താനേ വരും. ജനറം പദ്ധതിയില്‍ കേന്ദ്ര ഫണ്ട് കൂടുതല്‍ കിട്ടും. തൊഴിലുറപ്പ് പദ്ധതിയില്‍ നിലവില്‍ ശരാശരി 33 ദിവസമാണു കേരളത്തില്‍ തൊഴില്‍ കൊടുക്കുന്നത്. ഇത് ഇരട്ടിയാക്കുന്നതോടെ ഗ്രാമങ്ങളില്‍ കൂടുതല്‍ പണം ഒഴുകും. റൂറല്‍ ഇക്കോണമിക്കതു നേട്ടമാണ്. ആദ്യ നൂറു ദിനങ്ങളിലാണ് ഇതൊക്കെ യാഥാര്‍ഥ്യമാവുമോ എന്നതിന്റെ സൂചനയുണ്ടാവേണ്ടത്.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Sunday, May 15, 2011
ഒടുവില്‍ ഒന്നിച്ചു, സുധീരനെ ഒഴിവാക്കാന്‍ (Vayalar Gopakumar - Syndicate special)
ഒടുവില്‍ ഒന്നിച്ചു, സുധീരനെ ഒഴിവാക്കാന്‍
Madhyamam | Sun, 05/15/2011
വയലാര്‍ ഗോപകുമാര്‍
സുധീരനെ മറ്റൊരു വി.എസ് ആക്കി ഉയര്‍ത്താന്‍ വയലാര്‍ ഗോപകുമാറിന്റെ കോണ്ഗ്രസ് സിന്‍ഡിക്കേറ്റ് ലേഖനം :
Madhyamam | Sun, 05/15/2011
വയലാര്‍ ഗോപകുമാര്‍
സുധീരനെ മറ്റൊരു വി.എസ് ആക്കി ഉയര്‍ത്താന്‍ വയലാര്‍ ഗോപകുമാറിന്റെ കോണ്ഗ്രസ് സിന്‍ഡിക്കേറ്റ് ലേഖനം :
തിരുവനന്തപുരം: കെ.പി.സി.സി പ്രസിഡന്റ് പദവിയില്‍നിന്ന് സുധീരനെ തടയാന്‍ വീണ്ടും കോണ്‍ഗ്രസില്‍ യോജിച്ച നീക്കം. തെരഞ്ഞെടുപ്പിനിടയിലും മുമ്പും അരങ്ങേറിയ ഗ്രൂപ്പുകളികള്‍ക്കു താല്‍ക്കാലിക വിരാമമിട്ട് ഉമ്മന്‍ ചാണ്ടിയും രമേശ് ചെന്നിത്തലയും വീണ്ടും ഒരുമിച്ചത് സുധീരനെ അകറ്റിനിര്‍ത്താനാണെന്ന് സൂചന. അധികാരകേന്ദ്രങ്ങളില്‍ അതിശക്തരുടെ പ്രവേശം തടയാനായുള്ള ഈ ഒത്തൊരുമ കോണ്‍ഗ്രസില്‍ മറ്റൊരു വിവാദത്തിനു വഴിതുറന്നേക്കും.
ഞായറാഴ്ച നടന്ന നിയമസഭാ കക്ഷി യോഗത്തില്‍ പ്രതീക്ഷിച്ചപോലെ തന്നെ ഉമ്മന്‍ ചാണ്ടി വീണ്ടും നിയമസഭാകക്ഷി നേതാവായി. മുഖ്യമന്ത്രിപദം ലക്ഷ്യമിട്ട് മത്സരിച്ച രമേശ് ചെന്നിത്തല അപ്രതീക്ഷിതമെന്നോണം കെ.പി.സി.സി പ്രസിഡന്റുപദത്തില്‍ തുടരാന്‍ തയാറായി. മുഖ്യമന്ത്രിപദമല്ലെങ്കില്‍ പ്രമുഖ വകുപ്പേറ്റെടുത്ത് പ്രസിഡന്റു പദം ഒഴിയുമെന്ന ധാരണകള്‍ക്കു വിരുദ്ധമായുള്ള രമേശിന്റെ നീക്കം ആരും പ്രതീക്ഷിച്ചതല്ല.
നിയമസഭാ തെരഞ്ഞെടുപ്പില്‍ യു.ഡി.എഫിന് വന്‍ഭൂരിപക്ഷം ഉണ്ടാകുന്നപക്ഷം മുഖ്യമന്ത്രി പദത്തിലേക്ക് മത്സരമുണ്ടാകുമെന്ന് ഉറപ്പായിരുന്നു. ഇക്കാര്യം പരോക്ഷമായി രമേശ് ചെന്നിത്തലയുടെ വാക്കുകളില്‍ പ്രകടമാവുകയും ചെയ്തിരുന്നു. എന്നാല്‍, പാര്‍ട്ടി ആസ്ഥാനം അടച്ചിട്ട് മത്സരിക്കാന്‍ പോയ രമേശ് തെരഞ്ഞെടുപ്പിന് നേതൃത്വം നല്‍കിയില്ലെന്ന പരാതി കോണ്ഗ്രസ് അണികളില്‍നിന്ന് ഉയര്‍ന്നിരുന്നു. വന്‍ ഭൂരിപക്ഷത്തിന് അവസരമുണ്ടായിരുന്നിട്ടും തെരഞ്ഞെടുപ്പില്‍ കഷ്ടിച്ചു മാത്രം ജയിക്കാനായതു സംബന്ധിച്ച് പാര്‍ട്ടിയില്‍ വിമര്‍ശങ്ങള്‍ ആരംഭിച്ചു കഴിഞ്ഞു.
ഈ സാഹചര്യത്തില്‍ മുഖ്യമന്ത്രി സ്ഥാനത്തേക്ക് മത്സരം വന്നാല്‍ അതും വിമര്‍ശത്തിനിടയാക്കുമെന്ന് ഉറപ്പായതിനാല്‍ രമേശ് മുഖ്യമന്ത്രിസ്ഥാനത്തേക്കുള്ള താല്‍പര്യം ഉപേക്ഷിക്കുകയായിരുന്നു. പ്രമുഖ വകുപ്പ് ഏറ്റെടുത്ത് മന്ത്രിസഭാംഗമാകാനും അദ്ദേഹം തയാറില്ല. ഇത് ഉമ്മന്‍ ചാണ്ടിയും രമേശും തമ്മില്‍ തെരഞ്ഞെടുപ്പിനുശേഷം ഉണ്ടാക്കിയ ധാരണയുടെ ഫലമാണെന്നാണ് കരുതുന്നത്.
മികച്ച ഭൂരിപക്ഷം ലഭിച്ചിരുന്നുവെങ്കില്‍ ഹൈകമാന്‍ഡിനുമേല്‍ കെ.പി.സി.സി പ്രസിഡന്റ് പദവിയിലേക്ക് തങ്ങള്‍ ഉദ്ദേശിക്കുന്ന മറ്റൊരാളെ നിര്‍ദേശിക്കാനുള്ള ധാര്‍മികശക്തി രമേശിനും ഉമ്മന്‍ ചാണ്ടിക്കും ലഭിക്കുമായിരുന്നു. എന്നാല്‍, ദുര്‍ബലമായ വിജയത്തിന്റെ പശ്ചാത്തലത്തില്‍ ഹൈകമാന്‍ഡിനു മുന്നില്‍ അത്തരമൊരു നിര്‍ദേശം വെക്കാന്‍ ഇരുവര്‍ക്കും ധൈര്യമില്ല. ഈ സാഹചര്യത്തില്‍ കേന്ദ്ര നേതൃത്വം കെ.പി.സി.സി പ്രസിഡന്റ് പദവിയിലേക്ക് നിശ്ചയിക്കുന്നത് കേരളത്തിലെ രാഷ്ട്രീയസ്ഥിതിഗതികള്‍ക്ക് അനുയോജ്യനായ ഒരാളെയായിരിക്കും. എ.കെ. ആന്റണിയുടെ കൂടി താല്‍പര്യം ഇക്കാര്യത്തില്‍ അവര്‍ ആരായുകയും ചെയ്യും.
വി.എസ്. അച്യുതാനന്ദന്റെ നേതൃത്വത്തില്‍ അതിശക്തമായ ഒരു പ്രതിപക്ഷമാണ് കേരളത്തിലുള്ളതെന്നതിനാല്‍ അച്യുതാനന്ദനെ നേരിടാന്‍ പ്രാപ്തനായ ഒരാളെയായിരിക്കും ഇതിനായി കേന്ദ്ര നേതൃത്വം തെരഞ്ഞെടുക്കുക. സാമുദായികത നോക്കിയാലും ആദര്‍ശപരിവേഷത്തിന്റെ പേരിലും അച്യുതാനന്ദനോട് കിടപിടിക്കാന്‍ ഒരൊറ്റ നേതാവേ കേരളത്തില്‍ ഇപ്പോഴുള്ളു. അത് വി.എം. സുധീരനാണ്. എ.കെ. ആന്റണിയുടെ പരിഗണനയിലും മറ്റൊരാള്‍ ഇല്ല. എന്നാല്‍, കേരളത്തിലെ ഇപ്പോഴത്തെ നേതാക്കള്‍ക്ക് ഈ നിര്‍ദേശത്തില്‍ താല്‍പര്യമില്ല. സുധീരന്‍ കെ.പി.സി.സി പ്രസിഡന്റായാല്‍ ഭരണപരമായ കാര്യങ്ങളില്‍ അനുചിതമായ തീരുമാനങ്ങള്‍ ഉണ്ടാകാന്‍ സമ്മതിക്കില്ലെന്നുറപ്പാണ്. ജനവിരുദ്ധ തീരുമാനങ്ങളെ തുറന്നെതിര്‍ക്കാന്‍ അദ്ദേഹം തയാറാകും. ഇത് തങ്ങളുടെ താല്‍പര്യങ്ങള്‍ക്കെതിരാകുമെന്ന് അവര്‍ക്കറിയാം. ഈ വക അസൗകര്യങ്ങള്‍ ഒഴിവാക്കാനുള്ള പൊതു മിനിമം പരിപാടിയാണ് തല്‍ക്കാലത്തേക്ക് രമേശ് തന്നെ പ്രസിഡന്റായി തുടരണമെന്ന തീരുമാനമെന്നാണ് അറിയുന്നത്. എന്നാല്‍, തെരഞ്ഞെടുപ്പിലെ മോശം പ്രകടനത്തെപ്പറ്റി കേന്ദ്ര നേതൃത്വം വിലയിരുത്തുന്നപക്ഷം പിന്നീട് ഉമ്മന്‍ ചാണ്ടിയുടെയും ചെന്നിത്തലയുടെയും ഈ തീരുമാനത്തിന് ഭീഷണി ഉയര്‍ന്നേക്കാം.
നിയമസഭയില്‍ മുന്നണിക്ക് കുറഞ്ഞ ഭൂരിപക്ഷമേയുള്ളൂ എന്നതും പ്രശ്‌നങ്ങള്‍ ഉണ്ടാക്കും. നിയമസഭ കൂടുന്ന ദിവസങ്ങളിലെല്ലാം പ്രസിഡന്റ് നിര്‍ബന്ധമായും തലസ്ഥാനത്ത് വേണ്ടിവരും. അല്ലെങ്കില്‍ വോട്ടെടുപ്പില്‍ ഭരണപക്ഷം പരാജയപ്പെടുന്ന അവസ്ഥ ഉണ്ടാകാം.
എല്ലാം കൊണ്ടും കോണ്‍ഗ്രസിന് ഏറെ അസൗകര്യങ്ങള്‍ ഉണ്ടാക്കുന്നതാണ് ഈ തീരുമാനമെന്നു വിലയിരുത്തപ്പെടുന്നു. എന്നാല്‍ തെരഞ്ഞെടുപ്പു പോലെ ഏറ്റവും സന്ദിഗ്ധമായ അവസരങ്ങളില്‍ പോലും സാന്നിധ്യമറിയിക്കാത്ത ഒരു പ്രസിഡന്റ്, മുഴുവന്‍ സമയവും കെ.പി.സി.സി ഓഫിസില്‍ ഉണ്ടായിട്ടും കാര്യമില്ലെന്ന അഭിപ്രായവും പാര്‍ട്ടിക്കുള്ളില്‍ രൂപം കൊണ്ടിട്ടുണ്ട്.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
ഗുജറാത്ത് വികസനമെന്ന മിത്ത് : 3 ഫ്രണ്ട്‌ലൈന്‍ ലേഖനങ്ങള്‍ | The Gujarat Development Myth : 3 Frontline articles
Three Frontline (The Hindu publication) articles on Gujarat's development myth
Marketing a myth
in Vadodara
http://www.frontlineonnet.com/stories/20110520281001800.htm
| Narendra Modi seems to have set aside Hindutva to appease big business while the human development indices of Gujarat keep falling. |
Chief Minister Narendra Modi poses for a group photograph with business delegates during the concluding ceremony of the 5th Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit 2011 in Gandhinagar on January 13.
WHEN Anna Hazare praised Chief Minister Narendra Modi for his achievements in rural development in Gujarat, it resulted in a slew of messages to the veteran Gandhian from outraged non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and activists.
Rohit Prajapati and Trupti Shah, both social activists in Gujarat, said they had spent five days drafting their reply to Annaji but felt it was worth it because it had to be said. They said in their message to Hazare: “The statement of Annaji creates a wrong impression. It endorses Modi's authoritarian, fascist government, which is anti-farmer, anti-women, anti-working class, anti-Dalit, anti-tribal, anti-minorities, anti-environment, and against all the marginalised groups.”
A response also came from social activist and danseuse Mallika Sarabhai, who called Hazare's endorsement “appalling” and threatened to distance herself from the Lokpal movement unless Hazare “irrevocably retracted” his statement. Quick to point out the irony of the situation was the social activist Teesta Setalvad, who said there had been no Lokayukta in Gujarat for almost seven years.
Prajapati and Shah invited Hazare to Gujarat to see the so-called development work of a “Chief Minister who turned his back on scores of farmers who demand their right to farming as in the case of the Mahuva agitation; on tribal people who seek forest land”, and turned a “blind eye to pollution in towns and villages like Ankleshwar, Vapi, Nandesari, Vatva, Saurashtra and Kutch” and “fishing communities being deprived of their livelihood in Kutch”.
Gujarat is a State divided. At one end there is progress: 90 per cent of the village roads are paved; 98 per cent of the villages are electrified, with 80 per cent of them having electrified homes and 18 hours of electricity every day; and 86 per cent have piped water supply and good phone connections, banks, post offices and bus services. But amid all this, there are falling human development and social indices and rising corruption, which is all the more unacceptable because of the clean and progressive image that is being projected of the State.
Three big scams in two years have done little to promote Modi's Vibrant Gujarat. There was the Rs.1,700 crore Sujalam Sufalam scam in 2009: labourers who were to be given wheat in exchange for digging ponds in fields were given rice instead by local fair price traders although they had been paid wheat prices by the government. Many of the ponds were ‘dug' only on paper and large stocks of the rice were sent to Maharashtra and sold there at a profit. Also in 2009 came the Rs.260 crore scam pertaining to the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme: non-existent traders sold boris (sacks) to set up sandbag check dams, non-existent labourers were registered, and NREGA funds were misappropriated. In 2010, it was found that the Fisheries Minister had been awarding contracts for fishing in 58 reservoirs across the State. Reservoir fishing is awarded on the basis of tenders. It was alleged that the irregularity cost the State exchequer Rs.600 crore.
In 2003, Modi initiated the Vibrant Gujarat Summit to attract investors to the State. The first time he attracted proposals worth Rs.69 crore. In 2005, he got Rs.1 lakh crore. Then Rs.4 lakh crore in 2007, Rs.12 lakh crore in 2009 and almost Rs.21 lakh crore in 2011.
So what is it that the investors get in return for this undoubted confidence they have placed in Modi? In a nutshell, they get easy access to land and water wherever they want it. They also get tax exemptions for five years in which they are also exempt from labour laws. In this easy scheme of things, agricultural land is easily turned into non-agricultural land and tribal land is handed over to industries. Companies that have been polluters and have been hauled up by courts and ordered to clean up their act respond by simply moving out to new areas.
Vibrant Gujarat operates on a straightforward principle – roll out the red carpet for big money and ensure that everything is placed at its disposal. Social indices such as health, especially of women and children; education; the status of minorities; the economic health of the middle class and the poor; jobs, livelihoods and environmental concerns are all taking a back seat in what people are beginning to call the race to help the already rich.
Exclusive club
The beneficiaries seem to be a small and exclusive club. Employment generation has not kept up with that in other States. Teesta Setalvad, in an article entitled “Vibrant Gujarat summit – 2011 – Ridiculous show-off of Power”, has compared the investment and employment opportunities of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. She concludes that from 2006 to 2010, Maharashtra had Rs.4,20,546 crore in investment and employment opportunities worth Rs.8,63,395; and Tamil Nadu had investments worth Rs.1,63,280 crore and employment opportunities worth Rs.13,09,613, whereas Gujarat had investments worth Rs.5,35,873 crore and employment opportunities worth Rs.6,47,631.
Teesta Setalvad's analysis says: “At the end of the year 2009-10 in Gujarat there were 8,32,000 educated unemployed people. Number of educated unemployed people was 9,64,000 in 2004, 9,00,000 in 2005, 8,30,000 in 2006, 7,78,000 in 2007, 8,25,000 in 2008 and in 2009 also it was 8,25,000. Now if in the year 2003, 2005, 2007 there has been capital investment as per [what the] Chief Minister says, then why there has not been any significant decrease in the number of these unemployed people?”
Prajapati and Shah say that the “growth” in Gujarat is of a “job killing” kind: “The success story of the two-digit growth has masked the several-digit realities of loss of livelihood, land acquisition, displacement and permanent loss of natural resources, which are treated as free goods in this process. The investment figure without the displacement and depletion of natural resources figure, and the employment figure without loss of livelihood does not make sense,” they said in their message to Hazare.
Dr Abusaleh Shariff, Chief Economist, National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) and member-secretary of the Sachar Committee, said: “Gujarat fares better on direct income measures, but this apparent prosperity masks higher poverty levels and a much lower ranking in human development.” According to a study carried out by Shariff, Gujarat's share is only 5 per cent in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, reflecting the State's inadequate commitment to income generation for the poor. He also said levels of hunger in Gujarat were high and comparable to those in Orissa and Bihar. Only Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh had higher hunger levels, he said.
The Reserve Bank of India's 10-year report from January 2000 to March 2010 on foreign direct investment put paid to the notion that Gujarat attracted high FDI. Maharashtra attracted FDI worth Rs.17 lakh crore during this period; New Delhi Rs.10 lakh crore; Tamil Nadu Rs.2.4 lakh crore; Andhra Pradesh Rs.2 lakh crore; and Gujarat Rs.2.8 lakh crore.
The easy availability of land and resources is perhaps the biggest challenge before new industry today, and this is what Modi offers. The Mahuva and Orpat Limited cases highlight how people (especially farmers) are ridden roughshod over by the government in the rush to give land to industries. In the Mahuva case, the local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator objected to a project that Modi had cleared. In 1999, the then Chief Minister, Keshubhai Patel of the BJP, had ordered the building of four CDTRS (check dam cum tidal regulatory structure) at a cost of over Rs.60 crore. Located in a stretch of 40 km, these were supposed to turn thousands of hectares of land arable. Local farmers were delighted, but their joy was short-lived because the land was handed over to a washing soap company that was diversifying into cement. The land perfectly suited the company's purpose because it had the limestone deposits essential for cement production. But the mining of limestone would spell doom for the natural barrier against salinisation of arable lands. Local resistance to the idea was quashed by goons.
The 214-hectare plant coming up at a cost of Rs.1,400 crore will require a mining lease for over 3,200 hectares. This will displace about 5,000 families, that is, over 30,000 people. Agriculture has been the backbone of Mahuva, which is relatively prosperous and dependent on 20 cotton gins and 50 onion dehydration units.
In February 2010, local MLA Dr Kanubhai Kalsariya organised a rally of the people of the dozen affected villages. Modi rejected the petition of the 5,000 Mahuva residents who walked to Gandhinagar to ask him to cancel the land lease for the plant.
In Saurashtra, a similar land acquisition plan was unfolding. As part of the Vibrant Gujarat scheme, Orpat industries was granted 40 ha of land in Wankaner district to construct a tourist resort. Wankaner is in a drought-prone area. Two shocking concessions were made for Orpat. It was given land at Rs.40 per square metre and sole access to the Garida pond, the lone waterbody in the area that was used for drinking water and irrigation. It was walled off by Orpat.
Angry farmers approached the High Court, which stayed all activity on the site and in March this year ordered that water be released into irrigation canals. Local residents have also challenged the all-too-speedy allotment of land and the price at which it was given. The High Court is expected to give its order on both soon.
Fr Lancy Lobo of the Centre for Culture and Development in Vadodara has been studying development and displacement in Gujarat since Independence. His report entitled “Development-Induced Displacement in Gujarat 1947-2004”, co-authored with Shashikant Kumar, shows 4,00,000 households displaced in 57 years of Independence; this means that 5 per cent of the State's population was affected by developmental projects. Lobo says that a study of 80,000 Gazette notifications of the Government of Gujarat and files from Land Acquisition Departments from 25 Collectorates shows that 33,00,000 hectares of land was acquired in this period.
Shadow of 2002 riots
The communal killings of 2002 still haunt Gujarat. Not only were the camps for the riot-affected closed down with unseemly haste but the ghettoisation of the minority community continues because of the general sense of insecurity. Though it is common to hear it being said that “Muslims have moved on”, the scars are still fresh for the community. If they have “moved on”, it is because they have had to, not because they were assisted or encouraged to. There are huge advertisements and posters of Modi's meeting with Muslim leaders, but within the community this is seen for what it is – buying of peace.
In a study titled “Relative Development of Gujarat and Socio-Religious Differentials”, Shariff says, “Empirical evidence suggests that relative to other States and relative to other communities, Muslims in Gujarat are facing high levels of discrimination and deprivation.”
Indeed, the discrimination extends beyond Muslims to all those who opposed Modi at the time of the riots. Serving Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Sanjiv Bhatt, who has brought on record certain crucial aspects relating to cases from 2002, is Modi's latest victim. The special police protection given to him has been withdrawn, presumably because he did not fall in line.
Lobo says that despite all his bravado, 2002 “still haunts” Modi. He believes Modi “has passed from Hindutva to Gujarati asmita (self-respect) to development. He is trying to offset 2002. I'm not saying he has forgotten the past. It is just dormant for the time being because his focus is development, and development for him means industry right now. And so agriculture is suffering. Tribal people are suffering. Sixty per cent of the land that has been acquired for water resources is in tribal areas. Not only is water being taken away from the tribal people, but the places where it is being sent are already prosperous areas. After globalisation this is the dominant paradigm of development. He is laying the foundation for himself in Delhi in 2020.”
Modi is able to steamroll his way in the State because the bureaucracy is scared and the opposition is ineffective. Lobo feels there is “a strange understanding” between Modi and the Congress, and this seems to be helping Modi consolidate his position further.
However, in March, State Congress president Arjun Modhwadia released some telling statistics. Citing figures from the report of the Suresh P. Tendulkar Committee appointed by the Planning Commission, Modhwadia said 31.8 per cent of the State's population lived below the poverty line. This meant that Gujarat had the highest percentage of poor people in the country. Claiming government statistics as his source, Modhwadia announced that 9,829 workers, 5,447 farmers and 919 farm labourers had committed suicide in the State during Narendra Modi's tenure as Chief Minister.
Undercurrents
So, will Modi's one-sided growth alienate large sections of society? Are his actions creating a gulf between him and his assured voters? There seem to be small rumblings, undercurrents that indicate that his hard-core voters are slightly disgruntled.
They are hesitant to consider the Congress because the party quite obviously lacks a presence. Also, the dominant feeling is still that Modi has restored Gujarati asmita. Speaking plainly, this gives validation to the conflict between Hindus and Muslims. Asmita is a thinly veiled term implying that the minority community has been “taught a lesson” and “put in its place”.
Those who are the new victims of Modi's development goals are in a state of confusion. The man they saw as their hero is now creating policies that are affecting them adversely. There is a feeling of being let down and a reluctance to admit it.
In Luna village near Vadodara, farmers who voted for the BJP are still hesitant to speak against the party though they admit that the party's policies are destroying their livelihoods. They see the BJP as a Hindu party and as Hindus they want to support it. In return they expect favourable policies. That this is not happening is causing some turmoil and they are unwilling to express it openly.
The realisation that Modi has set aside his Hindutva plan, albeit temporarily, and is now set on a course that discriminates on economic grounds is an idea that is yet to sink in among Luna's farmers. Once it does, there is every possibility that the tables may be turned, and Modi may need to change his game plan.
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Stink of ‘development'
http://www.frontlineonnet.com/stories/20110520281002000.htm
Lyla Bavadam
The channel that carries effluents from the Nandesari industrial estate in Vadodara to the sea. The channel's interiors are a shambles, leading to seepage of effluents into bordering fields.
LUNA village is in Vadodara district. The road to Luna runs alongside fields of bajra, drumstick and vegetables. Separating the road and the fields is a channel 2.5 metres deep and 1.5 metres wide. This is the main channel that carries industrial effluents from Nandesari industrial estate in Vadodara to its final destination in the sea, after passing through 24 villages on its 55-kilometre journey. It is lined with brick and plaster, but its walls are in a state of neglect. In effect, it is an unlined channel. The opening is covered with slabs of concrete, which are again broken in places. Children and animals fall in with unfailing regularity and generally suffer skin ailments ranging from chemical burns to rashes, depending on how long it takes to rescue them. The government says the effluents have been fully treated before release.
A distinct chemical odour rises from the deep red liquid in the channel. According to Rohit Prajapati of the Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti (PSS), this mixture of “heavy metals like chromium, lead and nickel as well as persistent organic pollutants flow untreated into the ocean”. It seeps into the adjoining fields through gaps in the broken plasterwork. Sometimes farmers pump it into their fields because they do not want to pay for irrigation water. The harvest is usually good – plump brinjals with not a blemish on them, large cauliflowers with not a single worm. “My wife would be delighted to see such vegetables in the market,” says Kantibhai Mistry, a social activist who assists the PSS. “Except that I would tell her how they have grown. Even the insects know better than to attack these vegetables. They are so full of poison.”
While the “ laal ne peeru ponni” (local residents refer to the polluted water as “red and yellow water”) seems to act as a temporary insecticide, farmers are only too aware of what it does to their soil. Once the liquid evaporates, the heavy metals remain in the soil. Ghanshyam Ramanbhai Patel, a farmer, said: “It makes the soil hard and lifeless. We have to soften the soil with gypsum, add in extra natural fertilizer, but soon this will make no difference.”
The channel is not the only problem that Luna lives with. Worse is the presence of chemical and dye factories in the midst of an area that is so fertile that it is referred to as the “vegetable basket of Gujarat”. Drumsticks, especially, grow prolifically here and have a huge export market.
Luna's problems started in 2004 when chemical factories started getting permission to set up business there. Luna was an attractive destination because of its closeness to Vadodara. The fact that it was largely agricultural land did not dissuade the factory owners who seemed to know that getting it converted for non-agricultural use would not be difficult. It is a disconcerting but common sight to see chemical factories in the midst of fields. It was not possible to verify what the factories did with their effluents, but the presence of polluted groundwater gives credence to the accusations of the villagers that the factories indulge in reverse boring, that is, they dig a dry bore and get rid of the effluents by pumping it underground. Ghanshyam Patel was the first farmer in Luna to be affected by polluted water. In 2004, he switched on the pump of his borewell, which for 40 years had yielded clear water, and a yellow liquid gushed out. That is how it has been ever since. “In fact,” says Patel wryly, “we are even privileged to get different colours. Sometimes we have blue or red water.”
A farmer in Luna village takes a sample of the water irrigating his fields.
As the pollution spread underground, other farmers were also affected. Ghanshyam Chhotu Patel's borewell threw out yellow water a month ago. The Collector and the local official of the Gujarat Pollution Control Board held a public hearing in Luna in February. “Hearings are held when a new factory has to open or if an old one wants to increase production. It is just a natak [farce] to get the NOC [no-objection certificate] issued. No one will hold a hearing if I tell them I have suddenly started getting laal ne peeru ponni.”
Water polluted by chemicals is a part of life in Luna now. Villagers try and make light of it by discussing the colour and shade of the day. But there is a more serious side. Ailments like severe skin rashes and constant itching, mouth and stomach ulcers, blood in stools, and miscarriages are common. Even among animals miscarriages have become frequent, especially among buffaloes. Farmer Anil Valand says, “Our cows and buffaloes drink red water. I wonder what will happen to the people who drink this milk over many years.” Luna sells about 2,000 litres of milk every day to private distributors in Vadodara.
Luna has been fighting what it is now resigned to accept as a losing battle. Ghanshyam Ramanbhai Patel said his correspondence and files from 2004 “were enough to fill a well”. He believes that the pollution is being allowed to happen with the connivance of the government. “If an educated IAS [Indian Administrative Service] man is not moved by 50 letters saying the same thing over and over again what does it mean? It means he has no intention of solving the problem.”
The belief that the government is aiding the polluters seems to have some substance. Common effluent treatment plants (CETPs) are meant to be run by industrial estates. In Gujarat, the government has taken these over under the guise of monitoring them effectively. This, clearly, is not happening. There is an impression that Chief Minister Narendra Modi and the industrialists have come to a cosy arrangement.
Yogesh Patel expressed it thus: “Modi must have told the industrialists that he will take over the CETPs so that they do not need to bother with pollution control. They are only too happy because now they can say they are sending the effluents to the CETPs and they do not know what the government is doing with it. And since governments are known to shirk their work, everyone is resigned to accepting that the CETPs will not function. This way Modi allows them to pollute as long as they keep up production. This is the way we have a Vibrant Gujarat.”
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Haunted by the past
in New Delhi
http://www.frontlineonnet.com/stories/20110520281000400.htm
| A senior police officer's affidavit in the Supreme Court revives memories of the Gujarat carnage. |
CHIEF MINISTER NARENDRA Modi. The affidavit has the potential to hurt his aspirations to national leadership. Here, he addresses the media after appearing before the SIT in March 2010.
ON April 22, 2011, the ladies' wing of the Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry organised a women entrepreneurs' exhibition in Surat, where Hindi film actor Sherlyn Chopra was one of the guests. Speaking on the sidelines of the programme, the actor gushed that Chief Minister “Narendra Modi is the most dynamic person” she had “ever met”, and “given a chance” she “would like to be his personal assistant”. Sherlyn Chopra went on to add that Modi spoke with style and confidence and that he spoke all the time about progress and a shining India.
Other Modi fans, including many in the blogosphere, picked up the actor's statement to come up with laudatory comments highlighting how a range of personalities from different strata of society, from anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare to actor Sherlyn Chopra, were endorsing Modi, his politics and his style of functioning. The thematic premise of all this commendation was “Modi's commitment to progress and development”.
However, news that emerged that evening from New Delhi once again drew attention to certain areas of Modi's political personality that go beyond “commitment to progress and development”. The news was about the affidavit filed by a senior Gujarat police officer, Sanjiv Rajendra Bhatt, in the Supreme Court, accusing Modi of instigating Hindus in 2002 to “teach a lesson” to Muslims. This instigation, the affidavit asserted, preceded the genocide of Muslims in the State. Naturally, this served to bring down the excitement Chopra's praise generated.
MOBS ON THE rampage in a street in Ahmedabad on February 28, 2002.
This sequence of events, which unfolded over a period of around eight hours, signified a roller coaster of sorts for the Modi image. This is not the first time Modi has found himself in such a situation. Time and again, the Gujarat Chief Minister and his supporters have sought to underplay or even obliterate his association with the 2002 carnage and present him as the “leader who created a new, progress-oriented Gujarat, which is waiting to be replicated at the national level under his consummate leadership”. Such has been the force of the campaign that it packs sustained assertions that even large sections of the Muslim minority community are now Modi supporters on account of his development initiatives.
It is not as though this campaign has not had its successes. It has indeed spread far and wide, particularly among a section of the urban middle class. Despite all that, Modi's role in the 2002 carnage has come back to haunt him and his Hindutva-oriented political organisation repeatedly in one forum or the other. The unambiguous message from each of these episodes has been that Modi and his party will find it impossible to live down the Gujarat carnage however much they may try.
In fact, references to the carnage have come up most forcefully when Modi and his supporters have sought to advance the “development man” image aggressively. The BJP's National Executive meeting held in Patna in June 2010 is a case in point. A number of his close supporters had earmarked this conclave as the starting point of an aggressive campaign to project him as the prime ministerial candidate of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). As part of this campaign, advertisements were placed in several newspapers in Bihar extolling Modi's governance skills and personal virtues. These hailed him as a model administrator whose record in Gujarat was worthy of emulation in Bihar and the rest of the country. The message was clear: here is your future Prime Minister.
One advertisement made a special reference to Gujarat's contribution towards relief work for the victims of the floods in the Kosi river and went on to suggest that Modi had taken care to wipe Bihar's tears too when the State suffered.
Another full page advertisement had the picture of Muslim girls in burqas working on computers and the slogan that the Muslim community in Gujarat was advancing much faster than in other parts of India. Barely a day after the publication of the advertisement, it was revealed that the picture was actually taken from a college in Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh. In others words, it was a blatant trick.
IN A REFUGEE camp at Bapu Nagar in Ahmedabad in March 2002.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar made his displeasure clear at what was going on. He perceived the advertisement relating to the Kosi floods as a direct affront and a challenge to his own administrative skills. As regards the advertisement with the picture of Muslim girls, he lampooned it as a third-rate gimmick. The Janata Dal (United) leader even went to the extent of cancelling the dinner he had planned in honour of his NDA ally's leadership. A couple of days later Nitish Kumar also returned to the Gujarat government the Rs.5 crore grant it had given for flood relief.
Nitish Kumar followed this up with instructions that Modi should not come to campaign in Bihar during the Assembly elections, which were held in October-November 2010. His contention was that Modi's presence would alienate the considerable Muslim support base that the JD(U) had in the State. He also highlighted the advertisement trick using a photograph of Muslim girls to buttress his argument. Ultimately, Modi and the BJP were forced to comply with this direction.
Modi's anti-minority image once again came into sharp focus during the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into the Sohrabuddin Sheikh Murder case and particularly after the July 2010 arrest of Amit Shah, his trusted associate and the then Minister of State for Home. Shah was the first Minister to be arrested in the country in a case of fake encounter.
Revelations that a senior Minister of Modi's Cabinet had allegedly taken part in organising an encounter killing of a small-time criminal and his wife, who had no role in any crime, brought back memories of the 2002 carnage and Modi's alleged complicity in it.
All these developments, which signified the return of the 2002 carnage as a major point of discussion in the polity, did cause problems and place impediments in the assiduous image-building exercise that Modi and his associates undertook.
BIHAR CHIEF MINISTER Nitish Kumar. In 2010, during the run-up to the Assembly elections, he made clear his displeasure at the Modi camp's attempts to project the Gujarat Chief Minister's performance as worthy of emulation in Bihar. He ensured that Modi did not campaign in the State.
The latest in this series, Sanjiv Bhatt's affidavit, delineates Modi's alleged complicity in the 2002 carnage in concrete terms. Social activists who have tried to bring justice to the victims and survivors of the carnage over the past nine years believe that Bhatt's affidavit will impart greater strength to the legal points against Modi with regard to his alleged involvement in the carnage.
Call of conscience
Social activist Teesta Setalvad, who has been in the forefront of efforts to bring justice to the riot victims and survivors, points out that from time to time conscientious people have decided to end their silence on the carnage and come out with what they know. “Bhatt's action also needs to be seen in this light, she told Frontline (see interview).
At a broader level, the revelations that have harked back to the 2002 carnage have also underlined the general anti-Muslim thrust of the politics and policies of Narendra Modi and his government. Bhatt's affidavit has brought into sharp focus this thrust. An important point of discussion has been a recent study on “Relative Development of Gujarat and Socio-Religious Differentials” carried out by Dr Abusaleh Shariff, Chief Economist of the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) and member-secretary of the Sachar Committee, which prepared a comprehensive report on the state of Muslims in the country.
Shariff's study points out that Gujarat's Muslims fare badly on parameters of poverty, hunger, education and vulnerability on security issues. According to the study, levels of hunger are as high in Gujarat as they are in Orissa and Bihar. It also points out that the poverty of Gujarat's Muslims is eight times more than that of high-caste Hindus and 50 per cent more than that of Other Backward Class (OBC) communities. Twelve per cent of the Muslims have bank accounts, but only 2.6 per cent get bank loans.
Discrimination
The study also states that Muslims in Gujarat face high levels of discrimination, even in their enrolment for the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS). In the context of this study, questions have also been raised about Gujarat's claims about vibrant growth in other areas such as infrastructure development and industrialisation.
AMIT SHAH, MINISTER of State for Home in the Narendra Modi government who was arrested in 2010 in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case.
In the midst of all this, Modi and his associates have sought to launch a strong counter-attack against Bhatt, highlighting the senior police officer's alleged misdemeanours in service. Central to this counter-attack are certain official proceedings against Sanjiv Bhatt, which allege a recruitment scam while he was chairman of a district police recruitment board.
It is pointed out that Bhatt was charge-sheeted on December 12, 2010, as part of a departmental inquiry into police recruitment that took place in May 1996. It is also pointed out that through a “Confidential” Memorandum, the Home Department had served a show-cause notice on Bhatt on December 29, 2010. A case that came up against him in Rajasthan is also highlighted as part of the counter-attack. It involves allegations by a section of lawyers of Rajasthan that Bhatt had falsely implicated one of their colleagues in a narcotics case in 1996. Bhatt was charge-sheeted in this case by the Rajasthan Police's Crime Branch before a trial court in Jodhpur on April 13, 2000. The IPS officer's appeal against the charges is pending before the Supreme Court.
The argument of the BJP leadership, as also Modi's supporters, is that Bhatt has sought to implicate Modi in the 2002 carnage only to cover up his own culpability in many cases and escape punishment. “In any case, an officer who has been thus implicated and charge-sheeted has no moral authority to raise charges against the Chief Minister. We are sure that his affidavit will not stand up to a good judicial scrutiny,” Prakash Javadekar, BJP spokesperson, told Frontline.
Notwithstanding such assertions, the fact remains that the return of the ghost of the 2002 Gujarat carnage signifies yet another round of political battles and legal wrangling for the BJP, and particularly for Narendra Modi, who continues to cherish an elevation to the top leadership in national politics before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.