Open Forum
New Delhi, 10 June 2020
India’s Poverty
GOVT NEEDS TO BE HANDS-ON
By Dhurjati Mukherjee
The lockdown has put
sharp focus on India’s poverty as it emerges the sheer number of migrant
workers alone is mind-boggling, over 80 million. Mrs Indira Gandhi’s slogan of ‘Garibi Hatao’ and subsequent
government’s ‘poverty alleviation’ programmes now need critical debate and
analysis. Battling the global pandemic has laid bare the reality the poor and
those belonging to the economically weaker sections, be it the migrant or unorganised
workers are confronted with and who have had to struggle over decades for mere
existence.
In the spectrum of
poverty, it’s vital not just to keep in mind the BPL group but also the EWS,
who have had to fight against all odds to make two ends meet. This is equally relevant
with regard to education for their children as well as health facilities, which
sadly governments have ignored consistently.
The so-called
socialistic governance ensured one outcome – equitable distribution of poverty
for 80 per cent of the population. The political economy centred, over the
years, on alleviation and not on institutional support systems, which could
generate the needed inputs of capital and know-how at the local level. It is
indeed tragic that after almost seven decades unemployment and underemployment
have not been contained and we have a 100-days employment guarantee scheme,
which too obviously has proved inadequate to tackle acute rural distress and
poverty.
The hollow claims of
political leaders regarding enhancing development can be easily understood by
the present scenario. What has actually happened is not development –
understood as a balanced and sustained process – but just growth, benefitting
the upper class and middle income sections. The nation’s progress has actually been
confined to just 20 per cent of the population, most of which resides in big
cities. It would be relevant to refer to Prof. Michael Lipton’s famous book, Why People Stay Poor: Urban Bias and World
Development, where he observed years ago that the rural poor have been
subsidising the urban middle class.
The lack of adequate
development and social infrastructure in the rural sector, particularly in
backward districts of the country is a cause of serious concern. While it’s difficult
to find proper wellness centres in most blocks, where poor people can go for
treatment, the same is true for secondary schools, not to speak of colleges. Schools
may exist in villages, under the ‘Education for All’ scheme, but their standard
of building, teaching and even mid-day meals is questionable, as there is no
system to make authorities accountable.
It may not be wrong
to say that the one outcome our socialistic government has ensured is the equitable
distribution of poverty for 85 per cent of the population! While the political
economy was centred on poverty alleviation, for the time being it has been without
any institutional support systems which could generate the needed inputs of
capital and know-how at the grass-root level.
The village and block
level institutions have become decrepit with little political and financial autonomy
notwithstanding the Panchayati Raj system. The only effective programme in 73
years, according to this writer, has been MGNREGA, but even here the financial
allocation is not enough. Rest of the eco-system, from access to opportunity
and markets or employment, remains in the unorganised sector.
In recent time, the underdevelopment
of rural areas has become more manifest with huge number of migrants – around
80 million or more -- trudging in pitiable conditions just to get back to their
villages. It revealed that reality of rural India is imbalanced development as
a result of which able-bodied migrated from poor States, specially in north and
east, be it Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Bengal etc, in search
of employment, which was insecure and exploitative in nature. Though the
National Sample Survey warned of worsening poverty and growing malnutrition with
the rural population cutting down even on their food expenditure, the
government chose to look the other way.
The government is either
totally ignorant or chooses to remain ignorant about the pitiable conditions of
migrants, their work, families and means of livelihood. Worse, it seems to look
the other way even to the exploitation, the workers suffer at their place of
work. Over the years, it hasn’t cared to examine in detail the conditions the
vast number of unorganised labour has had to deal with for its survival. Or for
that matter, what needs to be done to halt their journey to well-off States in
search for jobs.
Reports reveal that
30-odd per cent of migrants wanted to return to their villages not only because
of the lockdown but due to work conditions, which may be expressed in the word
‘exploitation’. A recent survey by the Stranded Workers Action Network conducted
on 11,000 migrant workers indicates that 89 per cent had not been paid wages by
their employers during the lockdown and 96 per cent had received no food from
the government.
The situation is
alarming and we do hear of promises being made by the ruling political
leadership. Talk of self-reliance can be justified only if a plan for rural economic
revival is undertaken, the thrust of which should be on agro-based industries,
food processing, horticulture etc. Instead, the Prime Minister has as usual narrated
what is oft-heard: “Had our villages, towns, districts and States been
self-reliant, problems facing us would not have been of much magnitude as is
evident today”.
‘Atmanirbhar
Bharat’
is a deceptive ploy to hoodwink and distract attention from the more pressing
issue of providing jobs and livelihood to the suffering masses. The Opposition
has rightly suggested extending MGNREGA to urban areas and raising the number
of days to at least 150 days in rural areas this fiscal. This would give
impetus to developing rural infrastructure, provide livelihood options and
succour for the workers/labourers.
Whatever the
Government may claim or propose to achieve in next two-three years, the real
test will be whether it will change the state of economy, poverty or near
poverty looming large? More so, even as official figures don’t give a realistic
picture of the proposed growth rate or the unemployment situation in dire
straits. Clearly, the two most important thrusts required today are, realistic
and better governance, in the absence of which Moody’s downgraded India and the
other emphasis on innovation and R&D, specially for micro and cottage industries.
Being pragmatic is the need of the hour. ---INFA
(Copyright, India
News & Feature Alliance)
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