Politicians who assume that freebies rather than performance
will fetch them votes are in for rude shock. Karunanidhi government in
Tamil Nadu and the CPM governments in Kerala and West Bengal were past
masters in offering sops to electorates. But they were voted out mainly
because they were corrupt and non-performing.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has created a record of sorts by
not only not offering doles to the voters but also insisting on them to
pay up for the bills and services like water, electricity, net
connectivity and other infrastructure facilities. The man who has
ushered in a double digit agriculture growth in his state has not even
once offered free power or water or other public money squandering
initiatives the way UPA is doing at the centre. Even notorious private
corporates deliver satisfactory services to the public in general and
the farmer in particular and do their business profitably in Gujarat
because of the work culture Modi has devised. Compare it with Delhi, the
national capital. Here BRT is a scandal. People are stoic, skeptic, and
in spite of it being in operation for about five years, it has not been
able to satisfy the commuter and traffic jam has become a constant
irritation. Similarly, the power privatisation in Delhi is mired in
controversy. The electricity bills have gone up astronomically since
privatisation, service has not improved a bit and the private operators
are claiming that they are incurring heavy losses. Reports say that the
Delhi Chief Minister Shiela Dixit will replenish their coffers by
offering Rs.4000 crore from the state exchequer.
Modi is also building a BRT in Ahmedabad, which is hugely popular with
the public. He widened the roads adding four extra lanes, there is no
traffic snarl and the public believe that the BRT corridor will increase
their property value manifold. A motor mechanic in the suburb,
Chandkhera, Suleiman, who bought a small garage for a few lakhs some
years ago says, “My garage will be worth a crore once the BRT is
complete.” Modi, certainly does things differently.
The Gujarat Electricity Board (GEB), like other state boards, was in
the red with mounting losses to the tune of Rs. 2400 crores in 1999. The
people were fed up with the mismanaged power distribution system. The
general perception in those days was that it is almost impossible to get
out of this mess.
The reform proved the trigger for industry migrating to Gujarat from
states like Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Haryana. The Jyotirgram Yojana,
launched by Modi in 2003, ensured within a record time of three years,
100 per cent electrification of all villages with 24/7 power supply for
domestic and commercial use.
For many decades the farmers were dissatisfacted with the prevailing
power supply system for agriculture which suffered from uncertainty in
timing, fluctuating voltage and rampant power theft. The new scheme
introduced by Modi achieved a major breakthrough in power supply for
ground water management with eight hours daily power of full voltage and
on a pre-announced schedule. Far reaching implications of this
programme for ground water management have been clearly brought out in
an impact assessment study carried out by Tushar Shah and Shilp Verma in
2008 quoted in RD Dholakia’s book.
Modi took innovative farming to the door steps of the farmer along with
his Jyotirgram Yojana. Strict and punitive measures like cutting power
supply on default of bills were not very popular to begin with. Farmer
unions, used to free and pampered power supply, though erratic and
inadequate protested cutting connections on non-payment of bills. But
when it became clear that the system was put in place effectively, and
supply was assured and regular farmers complied and willingly cooperated
to their own advantage. Similarly scientific farming, soil testing and
use of manure, high yielding seeds and pesticides became a habit. An
innovative and massive extension effort was evolved to establish regular
and effective linkages with the farming community. A mega extension
effort, called the Krishi Mahotsav, was Gujarat’s answer to this
challenge. Krishi Mahotsav, was the result of a lot of effort,
formulating the process and content. Modi says that it was difficult to
convince the farmers initially that such massive and meticulous planning
could be made for covering 18000 villages during month long extension
effort. It involved around one lakh personnel from as many as 18
concerned government departments. Around 700 scientists from agriculture
universities were involved for transfer of technology from lab to land.
An ambitious programme was prepared for issue of soil health care and
kisan credit card for each farmer and micro level planning for each
block and village for recommending profitable alternative crop patterns
based on soil health, average market price for the past five years and
average rainfall pattern of the past 20 years. Recommendations for
improved agricultural practices and input use efficiency were also made.
This month long programme was carried out every year since 2005 in the
scorching heat of the month of May.
This innovative approach was dubbed initially by some as a publicity
stunt involving sheer wastage of government money. Some reservations
were also evident even within babudom and agricultural scientists. Modi,
however, decided to pursue the programme with determination and
foresight. “Such an innovative and integrated massive effort galvanized
the administration and brought about a paradigm shift in extension
effort. The extension machinery of Gujarat, which was not known for its
streamlined and vibrant character, turned the corner and acquired a new
sense of direction and commitment. As it were, the giant elephant, known
for its leisurely walking, suddenly started dancing!” (High Growth
Trajectory in Gujarat Agriculture).
Experts have bemoaned the slow and uncertain growth of Indian
Agriculture in recent decades. Frantic efforts are being made to evolve a
strategy that will enable India to achieve a four per cent growth for
Indian agriculture which is considered so essential for achieving an
overall economic growth rate of 10 per cent. Gujarat in ten years has
achieved a double digit growth which was almost zero for many decades
before. An enviable feat.
No comments:
Post a Comment