Misguided vision

Misguided vision

Newly formed states such as Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand are leaving no stones unturned to get the tag of "developed states". And to get this tag, they are industrialising rapidly, putting at stake the basic livelihoods of people. The regulatory structure is, however, weak. Gautam Bandopadhyaya of the Nadi Ghati Morcha says, "Industrialisation is chaotic. Zones are coming up without any evaluation of whether the area has the required resources, like water and power, to support industries and the people living in the region. There is no exhaustive and long-term cost-benefit analysis done either." Most community-based organisations and ngos have a very poor opinion of the state pollution control boards. Environment impact assessment is conducted poorly and communities are kept in the dark about the nature of the project till the very end (see box Chhattisgarh impact).

That the boards in both these states have failed to regulate industrial pollution is clear from the way sponge iron factories flout all the regulatory norms. There are widespread allegations of corruption against board officials. A raid in January 2006 at the residence of A K Sharma, member secretary, Chhattisgarh Environment Conservation Board (cecb), uncovered more than a crore of rupees in unaccounted property. The interference of politicians in the working of boards is also quite apparent. The Jharkhand State Pollution Control Board is headed by an mla against whom there are allegations of misconduct.

In its 2003-2004 annual report, the Central Pollution Control Board summed up the poor performance of cecb "... many of the existing sponge iron producing industries have expanded and increased their production without obtaining necessary approvals. (State boards) have to exercise strict vigil to ensure that such plants should not come up without proper and adequate pollution control systems".

Besides regulatory failure, the industrial policy of both these states contributes to the disarray effectively. The Chhattisgarh industrial policy wants to "take the state to the category of developed states to bring prosperity to the people. It is necessary that the rate of industrial growth increases substantially". By assuming that industrialisation is an indicator of a "developed state", policymakers have failed to acknowledge the need for a balance. The policy also claims that creating employment opportunities is one of the priority areas of the state government, and talks of promoting entrepreneurs from the tribal community to become partners in industrial development but fails to follow up this promise with tangible incentives. The policy says that small-scale and cottage industries will be given special incentives to create employment opportunities. At the same time, a list of "negative industries" has been issued, which includes most rural-based cottage industries, which are not entitled for any incentives. Says Lalit Surjan, chief editor of Deshbandhu, "The government is not concentrating on promoting traditional industries like rice mills, shellac and beedi manufacturing. These industries are socially and economically important."

Jharkhand's industrial policy has made mining and mineral-based industries one of the thrust areas for industrialisation. It promises 'speedy' environmental clearance procedures and self-certification for purposes of compliance with environmental and labour laws in some industrial sectors.

That the government is rolling out the red carpet for investors is obvious, since the policy talks about "making industrial investments in the state competitive vis--vis other states". Administrative and legal reforms are talked about in the policy.However, the emphasis is on ensuring "single point contact" and "time-bound clearance" for industrial investments. Labour laws do merit a mention -- but only the need for "simplification" of labour laws is talked about, though labour conditions in the state are nothing to write home about. Says the general secretary of the All India Trade Union Congress, "There is open flouting of labour laws in the state. Minimum wages are not paid; most people are being recruited on a contract basis, even though the jobs are of a permanent nature. Ensuring safety of the workers is only on paper." Accidents are common, especially in sponge iron plants.

That the state needs a balancing act is obvious. The new states are generously endowed with natural resources -- they are particularly rich in mineral resources, have sufficient water and extensive forest cover. However, using these resources for industrial development presents an ecological, social and political challenge. Sizeable portions of both these states are forested (42 per cent of Chhattisgarh and 29 per cent of Jharkhand), and much of the state's mineral resources are located under forests. The states have a demographic profile skewed towards traditionally disempowered groups -- tribals constitute 32 per cent of Chhattisgarh's population and 28 per cent of Jharkhand's. Very often these groups depend on lands that are mineral rich. Take for instance Bastar district -- it has huge iron ore reserves. Fifty-four per cent of the district is forested -- much of it densely. Nearly 70 per cent of the population of the district belongs to the scheduled castes or tribes.

The movement for the creation of Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand was a demand for tribal assertion as well as a movement for local control of resources. It was born out of a strong feeling of resentment over resources being used to make others rich, of resources not being used for local development. But things haven't changed for the better.

There is an urgent need to change the definition of 'development'. Uncontrolled industrialisation is not development. There is enough evidence to establish that environmental conservation must go hand in hand with economic development because development which destroys the environment will create more poverty. This is because the poor depend on nature for their daily survival -- for them the gross nature product is more important than the gross national product.