Future Economic Policy for
– by Shri D. V. Alate
INTRODUCTION:
Economic policy is a very important part of the Development Policy. Our strenuous efforts to advance the state of
One more aspect needs to be thought of the dependence on Govt. efforts alone has not yielded the desired results in the past. The stray efforts by NGOs in different areas have also not yielded spectacular results. Hence it is suggested that henceforth voluntary and cooperative efforts on large scale from NGO’s will be most desirable. NGOs should also strengthen monitoring of development efforts along with the government. Following suggestions take into account some such efforts in the near future. This dual policy should be the soul of the overall economic policy in the future.
Decentralization of planning, decision power, resource mobilization implementation and monitoring of results is essential to increase people’s participation, efficiency of development work and greater percolation of benefits. Arousing of Janachetana (see appendix1) should receive due recognition and priority.
ECONOMIC POLICIES IN FUTURE IN DIFFERENT SECTORS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF
(1) Population: Although the population growth rate is decreasing in the past, albeit slowly, it needs further impetus when considering other leading states such as Tamilnadu, Punjab, Karnataka etc. The growing industrialization and growth in services in the state is said to be accompanied by increasing immigration from other states. The alarming situation is seen for Mumbai, the financial hub of the country. With limited land of the city and consistently incoming population, the city is facing infrastructure problems to such an extent that a time has come to restrict the incoming population by making special legal provisions as provided in the Constitution. The future economic policy of the state must give urgent attention to this population problem.
(2) Agriculture: Performance of this sector is very poor; more than half the population of the state depends on agriculture and allied activities. The govt efforts have not yielded desired results; regional disparities are also notified. Following aspects therefore should be seriously considered.
(a) Water is inadequate and uncertain, irrigation projects are generally delayed with cost rising skyhigh and improved seeds are not timely distributed to all farmers. Hence the policy should be more on ‘self help’ as has been done by all exemplary villages ‘Hivare Bazar ‘where the rain water is stored in tanks and used by farmers reducing the dependence on Rain God. It is suggested that all villages where rainfall is generally inadequate and uncertain, the local people should follow Hivre Bazar approach. The policy should also insist on economic use of water by adapting drip irrigation and sprinkling technology. Water must be used economically. In addition the farmers should know the deficiency in the land/soil and understand the need for proper inputs i.e. water, seed and credit insurance etc. Money would be required in a big way but more urgent are continuous education of farmers and efficient agro-services catering to them.
(b) At the same time, the ongoing irrigation projects must be completed as per time schedule. The enlightened citizens should bring pressure on govt to do this.
(c) Wherever river joining projects are suggested] give top priority and compel govt to finalize such projects after due ecological studies. The people pressure should be increasing; in fact NGOs should follow this policy in a big way in practically all sectors.
(d) There is a need for changing age old cropping pattern. For any change, people generally do not accept immediately. Hence scientific approach should be the policy and existing agriculture university centres should be asked to give right solution. The future agriculture policy should follow directives from the agriculture universities.
(e) Agriculture allied activities, including agro-processing, should be given more priority.
(f) More afforestation is necessary. Local people should be given guidance in implanting necessary trees in villages. Area under forests should be grown more. Expert forest officers should provide guidelines areawise for choosing trees to be planted.
(3)Industry: (a) Industrial units are concentrated in Mumbai Pune Nasik areas. While government has created basic infrastructure in and around various cities, the pace of industrialization has slackened in the past few years. This should be changed.
(b) Big industrialists should be requested to move to regions away from big cities and they should be given extra infrastructure facilities and financial concessions. Already some such steps are taken but this has to be vigorously pursued. Our future policy should be to give boost to this (The government should have managed to get NANO car project in
(c) Small scale industrial units are wiping out from the industrial scene. This needs special attention by the government and the NGO’s alike so that the SSI units survive.
(d) Research in industries is slowly waning out. This should be stopped. The policy would encourage the units having R & D.
(4)Power: The state government has neglected power generation activity since a long time. In the past the state was surplus in electricity generation. It used to supply neighboring states. However of late it is has taken up new projects and is hopeful to eliminate load sheding by 2012 i.e. in the next two years.
At the same time usage of power by consumers has to be very economical and electric power should not be misused. Using power economically at every level should be our target which is possible through public communication.
Losses in distribution of power should also be curtailed to a large extent. Individual consumption of electricity should also be reduced so that people will have ‘power’ in future. Future policy for power should include all such economic aspects.
Use of Solar energy for residential purpose should be made compulsory in big towers/buildings. Technology has proved successful in some areas. If biogas technology is adopted the shortage would came down some villages have been successful in generating power sufficient for their village. Government should sponsor research projects in this area. This movement can then spread to a large extent.
There is also good scope for generating power by wind mills. This should be done on large-scale at the right place.
(5)Transport & communication :
To speed up the transport and communication system the govt has already taken up various schemes; it has also opened this sector for private sector. The qualitative aspect however should be given top priority.
Roads are constructed but potholes are innumerable in a short time. It is high time that this aspect is not considered very seriously by the government. Maintenance of transport system needs special attention. The policy of this sector should be to lay more emphasis on this aspect.
Road network connecting all villages is not yet complete. This rural road network also needs to be improved qualitatively.
Transport activity has been quite spectacular in the state but timeline is not maintained .The age old buses need to be replaced by new ones. Our policy thus aims at improving the existing transport system on war footing.
Emphasis should be on public transport and private transport need not be incentivised as is done now by levying lower tax in some cases.
Transport subsidy should be removed to encourage local units.
For communication, the state has made appreciable efforts; however the usage of computers as yet to increase to speed up the communication. In Mantralaya Secretaries are not well versed with computers; so must be the case in many offices. There is a tremendous demand for this skill. The future policy should emphasis this aspect. The computer use would speed up the implementation faster than hitherto and save time energy simultaneously.
(6)Education:
While primary and secondary education is spreading fast the policy should be to provide min essential infrastructure in all the schools. In villages and also in urban areas separate facilities for boys and girls are inadequate. Pure drinking water facility is not available in many corporation schools. There are no play grounds for the schools. Very few schools have libraries.
Our education policy would involve provisions for all these infrastructure facilities and most important is to provide good and dedicated teachers in the schools. There should compulsory cleanliness and physical exercise fitness among the students. The student must clean teeth twice a day and take min exercise. In fact if these two things are not done regularly in growing age student should not be allowed to appear for the examination. Importance of healthy children is to be imbibed in all.
Teacher’s ability to teach should be examined every 3 years. The policy would be to provide good teachers in the schools which would finalise the students at large.
Higher education should be given special attention because the society needs educated students as well as research students. The present day gloomy picture is that bright student does not opt for research this has to e changed.
(7) Health:
Following measures need to be taken up in order to provide basic facilities in this field.
(1 ) Public health care facilities must be extended to more areas and their services to be improved
(2) Charitable institutions should be encouraged to provide health facilities on affordable rates.
(3) Provide all basic infrastructure facilities in existing government corporations hospitals and insist private hospitals also to have the basic infrastructure facilities would include --
(a)Adequate supporting staff i.e. nurses, ward boys etc
(b) Min cleanliness is observed in the hospitals/wards etc.
(c) Necessary machinery in update condition.
(d) Cleanliness in Hospitals to the maximum
(e) Adequate medical staff available throughout day and night.
The corporations/municipality/nagarpalika should see that in the residential areas cleanliness observed; there are enough dust bins and nowhere ‘kachara’ is seen. Strict rules should be made and implemented for maintaining cleanliness in the city/town/village. No spitting on roads or public places. NGO’s should help the corporation in awakening citizens/public at large. School children should be taught.
Enough greenery should be maintained in every ward/village localities Necessary trees are planted on roads sides.
No eatables would be sold in open spaces on streets (like Wada paw) All restaurants/hotels would maintain cleanliness standards, corporation authorities should inspect and penalize if found guilty.
All primary health centres would be equipped with doctors. At present MBBS doctors are unwilling to go to PH centres. Provisions has to be made by approaching other doctors such as RMP
Necessary colleges to start the three years course for RMP and also other barefoot doctors for rural areas.
Mobile medical vans with facilities needed for heart patients would be provided at all primary health cetres. Through mobile; the doctor would start suggesting treatment immediately on call before he reaches the patient.
Use of generic medicines must be made compulsory in public health facilities and public should be educated on this besides persuading the medical practitioners to prescribe on generic basis only.
Make Yoga compulsory in schools besides sports.
(8) BPL – People Below the Poverty Line
(1)Although the percentage of people BPL is slowly decreasing actual number of persons is increasing. It is high time that these people need special attention. It was
In 2004-05, 30.7% of the population was below the poverty line, the % was higher only in
Our policy for this situation should be:
(a) Give them easy laons for constructing katccha, semi pucca houses and
provide necessary bricks and cement/mud etc.
(b) Give them some productive work at least to one person in each family/provide
cottage industry type work such as cleaning the cereals/pulses, making
Udabattis, cotton yarn on Charkha, brick making etc.(list can be made)In turn
they would be given meals.
(c) NGO’s can be the handling authority on the experimental basis. Once a
member gets the requisite skill, jobs and regular payment, the family would
be taken out of BPL scheme and it would not get BPL advantages. The family
would come out of BPL stigma (the details of such a scheme could be
decided later)
(9) Housing -- It is seen that almost all cities /towns/ villages have housing built in haphazard manner. After some years redevelopment of big houses/chawls/residential buildings is more or less essential. The corporations would evolve a scheme where the redevelopment of houses would have to follow some rules which will not only benefit the residents but also help the corporation for maintaining civic amenities. This means housing plans should be ready with municipal authorities. The schemes should add to the beauty of the village/town/city and at the same time, there would not be any scope for creating unclean areas which give rise to various diseases.
(10) General – Among other things, the following also needs to be tackled successfully for better economic progress:
(a) policies to counter rapid urbanization.
(b) reducing corruption level in public services by
- further increasing transparency
- citizen monitoring of major decisions and projects
- automatic and quick prosecution of culprits and confiscation of ill-
gotten gains
(c) to reduce malpractices and contrived shortage of seats in the education
sector, remove licensing by issued guidelines for proper control
(d) consider advance action on the broad-band network to take a leap in
public information and spreading gains of IT.
Above suggested policies in different sectors should be discussed in detail, NGO’s should insist the government/ local self government to implement them. NGO’s should voluntarily give cooperation to government and/or undertakings a few schemes.
In nutshell the suggested policies are:
(1) In future emphasis should be given to remove the economic disparities in different regions of the state.
(2) The government efforts have been either inadequate or exorbitantly costly than envisaged. Hereafter all the schemes undertaken by the government should be scrupulously monitored by NGO’s and they should point out the deficiencies to the government and thus restrict the corruption practices if any.
(3) NGO’s should take up some schemes in cooperation of the citizens just as what happened in Hivare Bazar for restoring rain water in lakes and proper distribution of the same . This it is a tremendous task.
(4) Bring pressure on government to restrict the inflow of population in Mumbai and in other cities since the infrastructure would be inadequate in future to meet the requirement. Steps should be taken in advance.
(5) Government should strengthen its monitoring of development work and can profitably involve NGOs in this.
(6) Decentralization at all levels and to the extent feasible should be practiced.
(7) In agriculture, NGO’s have to play key role; right from getting fine seeds, manures, changing cropping patterns if needed and useful too all. Forestation should be given priority.
(8) In Industry the depression of industries is to be kept in mind. SEZ policies should be studied from district to district.
(9) Electric power generation should be given top priority. See the distribution channels work properly. No theft or minimum distribution losses. All kinds of power generation should seriously studied and tapped.
(10) Transport/communication: In the past the sector was not given priority. Now it should be the quality aspect has to be observed. Here NGO’s should have say in the govt.
(11)Education: (a) Insist for good teachers
(b)Higher education should be given special impetus so that research should be taken up on large scale.
(c) Job oriented education should be given priority.
(12) Health: (a) in hospitals/nursing houses the lacunas should be removed.
(b) Start RMP course so that rural areas would get general medical health services.
(c) Cleanliness in and around the cities/ towns? Villages would be given priority. Thus would nullify the source of various diseases.
(d) Pay attention to health right from school days.
(13) BPL: Special schemes to e executed to remove or reduce the no of people below poverty line.
Appendix 1
SAMYAK VIKAS – IMPORTANT PRINCIPLES
Samyak Vikas or Samvikas or right development will mean fulfilling physical and psychological needs and leading towards the spiritual fulfillment individually and also a happy, contented, prosperous society leading to the common weal.
The following constitute the important principles of right development
1 Integral view of geographical areas, economy sectors, sections of society, all round development of individuals is to be taken. All walks of life including social, cultural are to be optimally developed. Sub–optimization will create problems.
2 Getting more happiness out of minimum consumption.
3 Use of natural resources within their sustainable capacity. This capacity can be enhanced with benign policies & actions
4 Realize full potential of technology. Use of appropriate technology
5 Development should be through social consciousness (Janachetana)- a mental frame of mind where even common people are inspired by the urge to improve and are ever prepared to work with initiative for realization of the goals.
6 Act on principle of decentralization within the country. Complementary centralized approach for dealing with giant problems & schemes as well as foreign governments, institutions or MNCs may be used as necessary.
7 Dharma as the guiding & regulatory principle. Work for freedom through self-regulation, independent regulation, and government regulation in that order of preference.
8 Present & implement right yardsticks for development & evaluation.
9 Harness non-economic motivations like patriotism, sense of duty/responsibility, pursuit of excellence etc.
10 Taking the fruits of development to the disadvantaged sections on priority (Antyodaya)
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