Assam: BJP’s primary objective must be to ensure rapid economic development

Although Assam is not a new political geography for it, but by winning the election convincingly, the BJP has made a point that its ‘Congress-mukt Bharat’ project has not gone off the track. Demolishing this Congress bastion is a big statement that fortifies the party’s preparations for the bigger battles ahead. Now that the expected shift in the corridors of power has happened, it is crucial to understand what kind of change does the state want, considering the various factors which have relegated it to the bottom slot of the economic graph in the recent times. Assam used to be the fifth most prosperous state after Independence. Besides a change in guard, the change talked about must address the lack of irrigation in the agricultural sector and huge unemployment. It should also provide impetus to bridled infrastructural development and, of course, tackle the perennial floods that hit the north-eastern gateway as an annual phenomenon.

There’s no element of doubt that the new government will have a Herculean task at hand. With over 80 per cent of the population engaged in cultivation, Assam’s economy is predominantly agriculture based. However, rapid rise in population and natural vagaries like the floods have left no space for growth, and these factors, combined with the resultant food deficit, have effectively blunt the shooting graphical arrow. The CAG report following the arrival of the NDA government in New Delhi had mentioned that not a single agricultural project was completed within the stipulated period. In fact, the projects remained incomplete for 38 years since their inception, so much so that to cover up the tardy progress of the ongoing schemes, minor irrigation works were taken up even without the financial sanction from the Ministry of Water Resources. This spoke volumes about the lack of commitment of ousted chief minister Tarun Gogoi’s rusted administrative machinery. With 35.81% of the state’s geographical area under cultivation, irrigation to provide the right amount of water at the right time is unquestionably the perfect option. The question of right amount and time comes up because factors like global warming, unseasonal rains and monsoon floods invariably affect the cultivable land adversely. 

It’s been some time now that various organisations, including the influential All Assam Students Union, have been urging the Centre to declare Assam’s floods as a national calamity. More often than not, the state populace is struck by floods at least twice every year. In September last year, around one million people from over 1500 villages were affected by the floods. Although the local media cried hoarse about the situation, its national counterpart had distanced itself from the entire issue. This, in fact, is the practice. At least 50 people lost their lives and thousands were rendered homeless as 16 of the state’s 23 districts bore the brunt of deluge. In the recent floods, nearly 5000 hectares of crop area have been inundated. While the state and the Centre keep engaging in mud-slinging, no one seems to be prepared to understand that it’s not just a teething problem; Assam is possibly the most flood-prone state in India and it has seen 12 major floods since the devastating earthquake of 1950. It’s not just the vulnerable embankments by the rivers like Brahmaputra, Beki, Jiya Bharali, Dhansiri, Puthimari, Katakhal and Kushiyara that the political representatives should bank on, but they must look for a holistic solution in earnest.   

With one of the worst records, Assam ranks third on India’s unemployment list. In 2012, Gogoi had announced that one of the biggest problems his state faced was of unemployment. Four years down the line, not much has changed. The autonomous Employment Generation Mission under the state government that tried to stimulate the economy through a focused and comprehensive approach in a few selected sectors has been the proverbial drop in the ocean. With less than a year left in the current 12th Five Year Plan period, it is imperative to bring about a paradigm shift in the scenario. During poll campaign, wisely moving away from the pet issue of illegal migration, the BJP had promised creation of jobs for over 2 million unemployed youths in the state. If at all they stick to what was announced, the youths in the state, who have been staring at a bleak future all this while, may finally find comfort in the times to come.

Although Assam registered 17 per cent increase in the length of pucca roads from 2011 to 2014 surging ahead of other states in the country, other infrastructural development has not seen any noticeable progress. The exception perhaps is the 210-km-long Lumding-Silchar project — what the railways calls the lifeline of Barak Valley — which was completed last year, thanks to Modi government’s Look East policy. It is to be seen now how diligently the Rs5000-crore Bogibeel bridge over the mighty Brahmaputra and the second phase of Lumding-Silchar gauge conversion projects are taken care of.

According to last year’s Assocham report, poor infrastructure, limited connectivity and stringent policy measures are responsible for Assam’s failure to attract industries. The region, it said, connected to the rest of India by a narrow stretch of land called the ‘chicken’s neck’, needs better infrastructure to support and ensure significant investments and developmental aids. The new government may do well if it pulls its weight, considering that a permanent Assocham regional office in Guwahati promises to focus on employment generation, skill development and promotion of organic products to enhance income of farmers.

Having said this, one wonders what lies ahead. Will the BJP-AGP combine with its allies bring in the much talked about change from Dispur? Immediately after the win, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had declared that India now sees BJP as a party that could usher in all-round and inclusive development. Party chief Amit Shah too attributed the win to BJP’s “politics of performance”. With a chief minister like Sarbananda Sonowal, who understands the state better than any of the BJP leaders, Assam may have just found a solution to its problems. However, a smooth road to development can be laid out only with broader political will and conviction, not with a constrictive motive of self or party before the country.

The writer is a journalist with dna