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Following is from http://164.100.24.207/synopsis/15/II/Synopsis-17-07-2009.pdf. Thanks to http://twitter.com/mensrightsindia for the link.

 

PRIVATE MEMBER’S BILL UNDERDEVELOPED AND BACKWARD AREAS AND REGIONS (SPECIAL PROVISIONS FOR ACCELERATED DEVELOPMENT) BILL, 2009

SHRI BAIJAYANT PANDA Initiating, said:

The Indian Constitution is one of the most widely lauded documents of its nature anywhere in the world. The Indian Constitution recognizes every citizen as equal irrespective of caste, creed, religious background and many other criteria, the fact remains that hundreds of millions of our fellow citizens are not equal, because of no fault of theirs. It is true that barriers of caste, barriers of religion affect many Indian citizens but the fact remains that one of the biggest predictors of the disadvantaged in our country is simply an accident of birth and that can be related to the region that they are born in. I have here with me a map which indicates the income patterns of various regions of various States in our country. When you look at the regions that are disadvantaged, you recognize that not a small proportion but rather a significant proportion of our population is disadvantaged simply by virtue of having been born in these regions and not having the same opportunities as the other Indian citizens have in other parts of the country. It is also obvious that it is these disadvantaged regions which are the breeding grounds of disaffection, naxalism and extremist movement. If we are to tackle these problems which challenge the India nation, our approach has to focus on the developmental requirements of these regions, particularly these backward regions which have been left behind.

It is a matter of national shame that 62 years after we gained Independence, there is such an imbalance. Because of our economic growth of the last decade and a half, we are being talked about as an economic super power in the making. But the fact remains that any super power status that is conferred upon us by the rest of the world is going to be marred if such a large percentage of our population, such sections of our geography are going to be left behind. As regards the official Below Poverty Lines statistics, my own home State of Orissa has a Below Poverty Line percentage of population of more than 45 per cent. The State of Bihar has more than 42 per cent of the people falling into this category of Below Poverty Line people. The state of Madhya Pradesh and Sikkim have 37 and 35 per cent of their people falling in this category. By some criteria and by some estimates, as many as 800 million people in India can be defined as poor by an Independent yardstick. But even if we just stick to the official definition, even if we just stick to official statistics, it is clear that we need to do an enormous amount of work to ensure that this regional disparity does not continue. Often we are given a picture that the Centre’s job is to legislate, is to plan, is to even accord financial help, but the actual job of implementation is the States. We recognize that, but national responsibility cannot be declined. The ultimate responsibility for the country’s performance is of the Central Government. Large chunks of our population from these regions actually hold the Centre responsible for their predicament. The Central decision of imposing a command economy on the country cost us very dearly in certain parts of the country. States like Orissa, Jharkhand, Bihar and West Bengal have a certain advantage, a natural economic advantage, having mineral wealth. This should have led to the natural situation that investment in those industries should have come to those States and they should have benefited from it. It did not happen. So, the Central Government do bear a responsibility for making sure that these parts of our country are helped, are given a helping hand to be brought up. Orissa has immense mineral potential. But for 50 years, it was held back. Everywhere in the world mineral royalties have been based on a principle known as ad valorem. But in India, the royalties were not ad valorem till recently. Now gradually they have started becoming so with still a few exceptions left. The disaffection that my fellow citizens feel in Orissa, in Bihar, in Chhattisgarh, and in all these States is but natural, is but justified. I would like to make a mention about the Railways. State of Orissa has one of the lowest railway network in the country, whereas our neighbouring States have the highest percentage of rail track in the country. If this is not discrimination, then tell me what discrimination is. I would like to mention that some of these States like Bihar and Orissa have, for decades, been asking for a special category status. But it has not been accorded. It is left to the State Government alone to take up the burden of development in these areas, which is simply not justified. An unbiased look needs to be taken. Certain changes in policy have to be made. We should take development to each and every village otherwise there is no way we can make the case that we should all live in harmony. I would like to point out that there are many pioneering efforts. At the national level itself, there is, of course, the Planning Commission. But the net result is that such large parts of the country are still neglected. I am not criticizing the Planning Commission. I am just saying that for a country of this size, things cannot be that centralized. They need to be decentralized. There should be a National Authority headed by the Prime Minster himself to deal with all the areas, which fall into this category. I hope, I would get the support of the Government in bringing about such a legislation so that these areas of lack of development can be attended to, otherwise, I put it to this House that these areas would get left behind for longer.

This is a beautiful speech.