By Our Reporter
Shillong: Lack of rural development in the north eastern region is attributed to the huge capacity deficit as well as integrity deficit paving the way for the rich to become richer while the poor to slip further down, observed Principal Secretary, Community and Rural Development KN Kumar.
“The speed at which class is emerging is frightening. The poor are running on a treadmill and getting nowhere. The affluent are riding escalators that take them everywhere. Economic disparities are sharpening in the North East and people living below poverty line have increased sharply since 2000,” Kumar said.
Mr KN Kumar was addressing a two-day national seminar on Rural Development in North East India: Challenges and Opportunities at Women’s College premises here on Friday. The seminar was attended by principals and faculty of various educational institutions and the students of the college.
Pointing out that the whole NE region is excessively dependent on rice with 65% of croping area under this single crop, Kumar said rice-based agriculture has failed to provide income security to the people Kumar said that rice which is a very water intensive crop has replaced millets and other more hardy crops. “The region will have to diversify into floriculture, horticulture, aquaculture and pisciculture and capitalise from spices for income generation of farmers and to lift them out of subsistence level.
Kumar also highlighted at the huge capacity deficit and the need for skill building to meet the employment needs of the 15-29 age group. Ruing the poor implementation of the NREGS, Kumar said it is unfortunate that corruption is now decentralised down to the villages. “The number of FIRs filed against VEC members is mind-boggling which indicates that there is something wrong with the whole system of implementation,” Kumar said.
“The absence of capacity building has resulted in corruption in many centrally sponsored schemes,” Kumar said adding, “these schemes might help people to survive but will they prosper?
The principal secretary stated that a convergence of educational institutions in building awareness and capacity building is imperative as awareness of the said scheme is very low in the north east except for Sikkim and Tripura.
Questioning the dependence of Meghalaya on states like Andhra Pradesh for fish species, Kumar said as far as land and water bodies are concerned, the north east is not far behind and they are capable of producing enough fish for consumption within the region.
Kumar who is also In charge of the fisheries department stated that the scenario of the region can be transformed through the fisheries department by concentrating on few lakhs of small multipurpose reservoirs (SMR) which will also help offset the adverse effects of climate change since rainfall is depleting.
“Climate change plays havoc on our plants and a solution to this is conversion of waste lands to bio waste cultivation set up”, he said adding that the department has floated tenders for bio-waste plantation only in wastelands.
Meanwhile, addressing the gathering as the chief guest, deputy chief minister Bindo M Lanong stressed on the importance of proper planning, budgeting and financing as the key to development.
Highlighting the startling figure of areas under crop cultivation in North East, Lanong mentioned that in a total geographical area of 2.62 lakhs sq km, only 21 percent of land area is under crops in North East with Meghalaya utilising only 12 percent of land for cropping.
The deputy chief minister empathised the need to be self sufficient and to stop depending on other states even for the smallest thing like a pin to shoe polish. “Nature has blessed us abundantly but we have failed to tap the available resources and are not being able to make a headway”, he said.
Labouring on Meghalaya’s potential as a tourist destination Lanong said the people of Meghalaya should engage in providing hospitality and other touristic services as a means of livelihood.
Pointing out the lack of proper marketing, Lanong has stated that the main problem is road connectivity. “About 9,350 km of road connectivity covers only around 2,992 villages out of 5,782 villages which is less than 50 percent and many villagers are living without road connectivity”, he said.
And out of 5,782 villages, only 3,428 villages are electrified while the rest are still living in the dark. This shows a coverage of only about 64 percent which is a dismal figure, Lanong informed.
The deputy chief minister has called for a collective discussion, proper planning and collective participation of various sectors of the society in the matters concerning the welfare of the rural populace and the entire state.