O J’s Corner

Plans aplenty,
execution tardy

Central and State governments wax eloquent on projects being launched to uplift the agriculture and rural sectors. Islands of prosperity have set in, following liberalisation and globalisation measures. But this scenario of growth and plenitude has not positively influenced large masses of people wriggling about in our society. I would say, not only the rural folk but also the urban low-class, have had a harrowing time. It is heartening to note that the governments have come to understand the problem. That is why certain programmes have been devised to improve the lot of the impoverished people. The hardest hit have been the farmers and those living in our hinterlands.

All talk about achievements in space technology, information technology, communication and allied spheres, business process outsourcing opportunities and high earnings of our youth in these realms have not helped the pathetic condition of agriculturists, cattle-rearers and multitudes of the rural habitations. We talk about inclusive growth. That is a pet term. How do you include these people among the jet-setting, BSE- and –Nifty-indices groping multi-millionaires? Even in copy-book capitalism-following countries, there are strict social security measures. There is one agency which monitors the condition of the jobless, the income-less citizens. Every individual and family members are accounted for. If they have nothing to fend for, the State provides them the sufficient funds and health facilities to live until they find a livelihood. There are no plethora of departments dealing with them like in India which can find and an alibi and blame each other. The state provides assistance to meritorious students to pursue their studies even in private institutions. Here what do we do? We don’t have an all-embracing social security scheme. Unemployment dole is given here and there, which is not a holistic programme, to take care of all the income-less people. We go on increasing administered prices, withdraw subsidy and gloat over gradually reducing the income-expenditure gap in the budgets, without taking adequate measures to meticulously take care of the income-less people. But then, that is a basic difference in perception. Is it that over-populated countries cannot adopt the social security schemes prevalent in developed countries? It seems the developed countries themselves are looking to our hotch-potch social security measures. The World Bank also devised the poverty ceiling as one dollar a day. Even that is not forthcoming in many under-developed countries.

All these things apart, we have a lot of Centrally-sponsored schemes which are meant to ensure development of the agriculturists, the rural folk and the jobless people. The Central Government plans to spend Rs 40,000 crore for the welfare of the farmers. Of these, a substantial chunk, amounting to Rs 25,000 crore goes to States which should implement various projects. In addition, as much as Rs 60,000 crore would be provided to States, particularly those which registered farmers’suicides, to write off agricultural debts. There are other schemes being implemented directly through local bodies. National Rural Health Mission envisages an expenditure of Rs 10,000 crore for rural uplift.

Provision of amounts in books of accounts would not wipe out the travails of the poor in rural and urban sectors. Ideological rigmarole would not provide succour to the poor.
Efficiency lies in meticulous execution and reaching out to the needy on time.