Hari Raj Singh
Prelude
Stepping into the tenth year of Uttarakhand statehood! It’s neither too long a duration to be mature enough as a state nor too short to lack sincerity to handle thyself! There is a strong commonality between human and state growth. A human of 10 years age is a child, but s/he is enough grown up to shape up his/her character/ attitude and above all COMMON SENSE, if not the 6th sense.The vibrancy of 10 has a lot of intriguing questions and equally good number of innocent (and practical) opinions. Did we ever realise this? If yes, then it’s so far so good, if not then we need to, in the interest of a perfect statehood (just like manhood).
The progress of any system depends upon the kind of governance and development approach adopted. In either of the cases the two kinds of the approach normally discussed or followed are ‘Top to Bottom or Bottom Up’. The like and dislike to any of the said approach depends upon the adopting section of the system. Normally the ‘Top to Bottom approach’ is liked by the legislative and the executive. Whereas, the ‘Bottom Up approach’ is a choice of the civil society. But, neither of the section ever realise that the stratification and layering within the system creates a ‘Top in each Bottom’ and ‘Bottom in each Top’. So, the idea is neither of the approaches is wrong or right. Actually it is the ‘frame of ideas and subsequent translation of these ideas into ground reality’, which is required for ideal governance and development.
(The all important issue is “Kya ek naveen soach ke tehat vyavastha chalti hai ya vyavasthaon ki bandishon mein ghiri hui soach panapti hai”)
Issues and Views
Reflecting back on to the (Uttarakhand) states governance and development down the time line, certain issues of importance as perceived and to be there for rightful progress are:
Reorganization of administrative district units:
Lets take an example straight away, on one side there are large districts like Dehra Dun and Chamoli and on the other the small one’s like Rudraprayag and Champawat. Now this anomaly needs to be corrected and sooner the better. In a cross section view we find a district like Dehra Dun cutting across several types of physiographic and socio-economic regimes. Is it possible for a centralized district authority or development office to have a recky of the entire district in a single working day, leave aside addressing the needs and problems? It is universally accepted that a management unit is framed on the principle of acknowledging the ‘limiting factor’. In the case of Himalaya the ‘terrain’ and ‘time to cover a unit area’ are two limiting factors. On this premise all administrative units, be it districts, tehsil, block or forest division, range, beats all need to be reoriented. Historically, the revenue management was on the basis of river valleys and catchments; can this be a way to reorient our administrative units to have an easy flow of management responsibilities? If the option appeals, then reforms need to be done and if not, then further options need to be explored.
Dilemma of the Capital Town?
Beyond personal and sectoral whims and fancies, the state legislature and the executive need to fix up a locus as a ‘nerve center’ for the state. Doesn’t it sound strange that being into the tenth year of statehood, yet the state is in search of a headspace? The issue becomes all the more satirical when we observe that ‘a new town of Tehri’ was created for a ‘HYDROELECTRIC DAM’, but for a ‘new state’ a ‘NEW CAPITAL’ is still in waiting! A system of command which cannot decide upon the ‘nerve center’, how it can create an efficient regulatory and management system for its ‘constituent organs’? …And under such circumstances progress and development could only be a distant dream. Thus, the issue of the capital town needs a quick and wise decision in the interest of the ‘state body’.
Who need the development (orientation) more?
It is widely accepted that majority of Uttarakhand’s development needs lie in 16000 plus villages dotting its entire landscape. No doubt there are 72 odd townships/cities, but we also know that these settlements have a natural pull from power corridors and even private interests for their development and progress. So, actually the focus is more required, rather a necessity, for village cluster development then to urban/ quasi-urban settlement to support Bottom Up approach.
Line departments/ directorate’s development divide:
Those who work with the rural development sector, know it very well that no single therapy or approach works for solution finding, afterall village is not like an industrial estate! Yet we find a multi-pronged fragmented approach in execution of development works by various line departments (and that too not having an eye for each other), then be it Agriculture/ Horticulture/ Soil Conservation/ Forest/ Irrigation/ Drinking water/ Livestock and so on, all having their own agenda and issues with a bare minimum interaction or symbiosis with each other . Is it so in a village? NO. The mountain villages are a ‘harmony of all’, but alas! the development superstructure is ‘fragmented’. Thus, there is an immediate need to integrate the whole issue, how? It’s a management challenge. We have the ‘Watershed Directorate’ as an answer to it. Can we design a similar ‘super structure’, but then what about the ministries and directorates? Who would like to divulge his/her power in the interest of commons?.
Capacity building- of whom and for what?
Into the tenth year down the line the state has grown from 23 MLA’s to 71 odd and simultaneously the executive has also flourished. Panchayat elections have also added to the capacities of villages. But now is the time to further the cause of capacity building of the commons. The idea is to address the issues of basic living and strengthening them, these include livelihood options, quality of life issues, health/sanitation/food safety/education and so on.
Are we a single or multifaceted state?
Every time there is a hype of a concept, at times it is 'Urja Pradesh’, on the other it’s ‘Herbal State’, then it is ‘Organic State’, next is ‘Adobe of Gods-Tourism State’ and so on. The state people are simply in dilemma that what kind of ‘state’ we are visioning for? Is it at all necessary to project certain personal preferences in a ‘singular manner’, can’t we project our climatically, resource wise and culturally diverse state as a ‘MULTIFACETED STATE’? Probably the answer would be ‘YES-WE CAN’! This gives us the kind of impetus and range of options and sense of confidence amongst the masses that we have a lot and we can do a lot? We need to do away with ‘Mono-Cultured Idea Promotion’ and replace it with our age old ideology/philosophy of ‘Diversity is Prosperity’.
Issues of Green Bonus and beyond:
‘Green Bonus’ sounds good but at the same time the allurement of string of benefits and techno advantage of modern day lifestyle are at a conflict with it. How the common citizen can be made to realize the long term gains of green living and forgo the life entertaining and technology comforts. It’s a huge challenge for all at the ‘Top’ (as they have it all in terms of modernity) to convince the ‘Bottom’ who’s vying to achieve all the luxury in his/her life time. Let’s have a solution for this; can we lead by setting example? We should try to have a ‘Clean and Green’ Vidhan Sabha/ Secretariat/ Directorate/Departments. Let’s have a BEE (Bureau of Energy Efficiency) sponsored energy audits for all our establishments. Let their be ‘Carbon Audit’ of the functioning of our line departments and offices. Let’s have a fair view of how the ‘Top’ is ready to give in favor of the ‘Green’ issues vis-à-vis its system requirements. One such example of Rastrapati Bhavan set forth by former president Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam is there with us for follow.
Livelihood promoting projects or mechanism?
No doubt projects are more target oriented and even catchy at times. But it’s not the need of society and rural to be specific. What they need is a ‘mechanism’ which is ‘process based’ then to time bound. Afterall life and livelihood is a ‘continuum’ then to a definite cycle. So what could be the idea? Most of the productive & livelihood supporting line departments lack a pyramidal structure (rather its inverse pyramid at times). Why? It needs to be answered, as agriculture, livestock, horticulture, forests, trade support (and so on)related establishments, which address livelihood issues of 16, 000 odd villages, severely lack motivation, efficiency and rightful execution. This puts additional burden on civil society institutions (NGO’s/ CBO’s/ VO’s) to intervene in execution of the works and programmes then to their basic role of working as social auditors and sound board for all development related activities at micro level. Can we think of an option where a ‘mechanism’ is established in which there is an unhindered flow of ‘problems and solutions’, for e.g. the age old lab to land and land to lab concept. Then, we can have trained human resource (like para-vets) for vegetables, fruits, flowers, crops, livestock, medicinal and so on, placed at ‘functional & delivery nodes’ i.e. Blocks and Village Panchayats levels. The state is in dire need of a focused hill agriculture institution and even a forests/forestry support institution. IIM’s, IIT’s and IIIT’s are good ‘Tops’, but we need everyday solution giving ‘technical and further education’ institution at the ‘Bottom’ so that micro-systems can evolve and take shape of enterprises. Can we borrow a learning model from neighbouring China? If at all yes, we should do. As long as we have ‘right kind of ideas’ and a ‘will to translate’ them into ground realities with purity and honesty, success is just round the corner (obviously with a pinch of bitterness of failures) and over the hill top. So let’s begin for a change… as life and livings are just a beginning which never ends!
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Hari Raj Singh : +91 412768962, harirajsingh@hotmail.com; http://harirajsingh68.blogspot.com Subject Specialist (Watershed/ Disaster Mgt.). Dehra Dun
