By Phrangsngi Pyrtuh
‘History does not repeat itself but it often rhymes’ quoted Mark Twain. Meghalaya Chief Minister, Mukul Sangma during the recent 60th plenary session of the NEC in New Delhi express the need for railway connectivity in the state- a sensitive political ridden jargon which rhymes well with the political instability of the state. And of course this is not the first time a political head voiced his opinion on such a concept – an issue which remains dead for most part and brought to life as and when it is convenient to do so. Moreover the criticism against railway connectivity (from different quarters) has sobered remarkably-owing to the recognition that such a concept will always remain a political rhetoric. I need not go into the merits and demerits of rail connectivity because we have substantial self-proclaimed experts who over the years, have played a decisive role in stalling the project. And to that extent Meghalaya shall remain the only state lacking in railway connection.
The region is in desperate need of development boost which is challenging because of the socio-political instability and to which a separate ministry (the DONER ministry) was created to oversee development of the region. The NEC is the nodal agency on which the eight northeastern states rely for undertaking developmental work in the region. The NEC through the DONER is supposed to play a dynamic role in reshaping the socio-economic scenario of the region- with the Planning Commission deciding fund allocation annually. However, the allocation/finance from Commission to the ministry had showed downward trend in recent times and this has become a cause of concern for all the beneficiary states. At the said plenary meet, the Chief Ministers of the region staged a coup de theatre regarding the decline in funds allocation which according to the Chief Ministers will hinder development work in the region. On the contrary we have the NEC report which clearly mentioned the reason for this curtailment – huge unspent funds by the member states- the non-utilization of the allocated funds report seems like a tit for tat response to the claims of the anguished parties. Evidently the political heads from the region have not done their homework by taking on such a powerful institution.
Both the parties are to be blamed for the huge unspent balance from the allocated package. This significance of claims and counter claims clearly says something about fund flows, monitoring of it and auditing which may require more attention especially from the apex body to the beneficiaries. Of course we still have no way of knowing how transparent this flow of fund is which therefore leaves questions such as reporting, reformation and streamlining at the mercy of the authorities who are themselves guided by rent seeking behaviour. The Commission as the principal- the states as agents and the asymmetrical information that exist between the two requires a radical change in the way the present relationship is progressing. This is important to overcome the deficit in trust that exist from below- where actual development activities take place. This lack of trust is manifested through the stiff opposition from the people of the region towards mega projects – a perennial challenge for any development agency in these areas considering the ethno-geographical complexities. Though the region is the ‘sick man of the country’ its people still consider anything that flows from the centre as an invasion of their culture, tradition, identity et al. For instance, in tune with the NE Vision 2020, all the state capitals of the region are to be connected with the grand railway project by 2017 which I can bet will not happen by the stipulated deadline. You can only take the horse to the river but you cannot make it drink. This suspicion and insecurity works against the interests and aspirations of the people though the NEC may only have goodwill towards the region. I feel that the social goals of the ministry does not reflect ground realities and unless this is addressed, the NEC will only remain a silent spectator restricted by the very goals which it set to achieve brimming more suspicion rather than confidence in the region.
There is a lacunae in the development story of the NEC. While planning has changed tremendously ever since the era of economic reforms, the underlying doctrine based on the trickle down theory still persists masking itself under a new name ‘inclusive growth’. Ironically it was the failure of this doctrine that pushed our policy makers to herald reforms which so far have not been inclusive strictly speaking. Too much attention is paid on growth rate no matter if other variables such as inflation, extreme poverty, starvation and such social maladies co-exist. In fact the ultimate aim of the NER vision 2020 is to herald an annual gross state domestic product of around 13% to catch up with the national average of around 9%. Planning considering the volatile nature of the region, should opt for injecting social development as a priority rather than growth rate based on numbers as a strategy.
The question therefore, is, whether the NEC can embark on this journey as a social catalyst, most important for any development programme to succeed in this diverse and sensitive region. Social capital is the pre-requisite to accelerate development in the region. The synergy between the state which brings development and the society which requires it needs to be embedded within the paradigm of our tribal society which is based on strong ties and dense social networks with needs and requirements very different from those in the mainland. Development programmes, at least in this region, should be need oriented rather than policy based. Confidence building measures need to be an integral and prime objective of the body if the ministry is to have any relevance in changing the growth trajectory of the region.
(The author is a scholar of Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi)