ECOVERVE5

Team Members • Aanchal Jain • Chiranjivi Chakraborty• Hansa Mehrotra

• Sougat Misra• Vaibhav Chandra

CONTENTS

ECONOMIC CHALLENGES

Agriculture Infrastructure Tourism

PROPOSED POLICIES, THEIR IMPACT AND IMPLEMENTATION MEASURES

Indigenous farming practices for Rice Cultivation Facilitating Rural Credit and Back-end Infrastructure Promoting and forming Self-Help Groups (SHGs) Polymer-Bitumen Based Road Technology Double-Tunneling for the hills Creation of North-East Region Infrastructure Development Board (NERDB)

SOCIO-POLITICAL CHALLENGES

Insurgency Illegal Migration

SOCIO-POLITICAL SOLUTIONS

Insurgency – Short run and Long run Illegal Migration For One’s Demanding Separate Statehood

PROPOSITION OF SOCIO-POLITICAL POLICIES AND THEIR IMPACT

For preventing ethnic violence Bringing contentment among the dissatisfied and neglected NER populationMore attention to disputed regions Better Law & Order, State Security and Drafting Conclusive Negotiations with Insurgents Amendment of the 6th schedule of the Indian Constitution

THE CYCLES OF POVERTY AND PROSPERITY

CONCLUSION

REFRENCES

• Lack of adoption and awareness of efficient indigenous agricultural practices.

• Weak credit delivery system, poor transport & market infrastructure (per Ha credit disbursement is 1/5th of National Average.

• Small size of operational holdings ranging from 0.6 Ha in Tripura to 1.42 Ha at all India level.

• Large number of intermediaries and defective marketing.

Agriculture

• NER is abundant with geological formation and its terrain poses tremendous technical problems for railways and roadways.

• Power generation is an another uphill task in the hilly region.

• At 66 km per 100 km square area the road length in the region is lower than the country’s average.

• Quality of existing roads is unfit for heavy transportation. Many of them are unconnected to major district headquarters.

• Poor communication-virtually non-existent forcing people to resort to conventional sources.

Infrastructure

• Region lacks behind in tourism growth because of its major issues like infrastructure, insurgency etc.

Tourism

ECONOMIC CHALLENGES IMPEDING THE POTENTIAL OF NER

43

09

57

58

46

27

17

81

21

93

2051

4481

62

11

478

60

2000

4000

6000

8000

Net Sown Area

Total Cultivated

Area

Cultivated Land

2008-09

2009-10

2010-11

Graph 1 : Cultivated Area Under North East

TARGET ACHIEVEMENT

NHDP-I (GQ and Others) 201 139.04

NHDP-II ( NS-EW & Others) 1785.55 1635.07

NHDP-III A 1102 794.19

NHDP V 77 107.6

TOTAL 3165.55 2675.9

• Completion of pending projects under NHDP-III regarding 2/4 laneing.• Connectivity to all 88 districts headquarters towns of NER.• Upgrade NH connecting State Capitals. • Target for award in 2011-12 = 1991 Km, Target for completion in 2011-12 = 270 Km.

Table 1 : National Highway Development Projects

Source: www.indiaagristat.com

Propagating unique indigenous farming practices for Rice Cultivation

• An inbuilt Water- harvesting & recycling system.

• Controls Soil Erosion and manages soil fertility.• Allows scope for fish culture in the wet-riceterraces, normally producing 50-60 Kg of fish .perhectare

• Adds organic matter to the soil by recycling pigand poultry droppings, rice husks, kitchenbased, etc every year.• No cost of maintenance as fishes feed onphytoplanktons.

ZABO FARMING RICE BASED FARMING

Initiating a training programme. Recruiting personnel from regions where the practice isprevalent. Example- Arunachal Pradesh (Apatanis), Phekdistrict of Nagaland (Chakhesangs) Imparting education to farmers. Airing the programme details through All IndiaRadio, Doordarshan, Panchayats, etc.

{1}

{2}

•Implementation of recently taken up schemes regarding licensing of Post offices as banks.• Greater accessibility of credit and formal banking.• Higher rate of investment and saving.

Facilitating rural Credit and Back-End Infrastructure

• The group is made up of women giving them financial independence and social empowerment.• Credit facility to fellow members from bank on a non-collateral basis.• Promotion to All India Radio, Doordarshan, Panchayats, etc.

Promoting and forming Self-Help groups

{3}

PROPOSING POLICIES, THEIR IMPACTS AND THEIR IMPLEMENTATION FOR TWO BASIC ECONOMIC CHALLENGES OF AGRICULTURE AND INFRASTRUCTURE

• Loose surface soil of the North East Region is appropriate for the technology to work at its best.

• Consumes only 60% of existing soil and 40% smaller aggregates as compared to 100% aggregate usage in conventional crust making method.

• It increases soil strength by 300%.

• Making use of waste plastic as it is a binding element that can reduce cost by as much as 98%.(cost per km 4.5 lacs)*

• Current 12th plan package under SARDP-NE** including Arunachal package is Rs 37674 cr. for 7066 km.

Polymer-Bitumen

based Road Technology Application

78

4

22

4

3317

58

28

46

8

139.

5

1578

29

18

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

Machinery Power (Hours)

Bitumen (MT)

Construction time

Using this Technology the Cost comes down to

7066 *4.5 lacs=

Rs.31797 lacs

Man Power(Man days)

Aggregate (cum)

aAs per conventional crust

As per IPPL’s suggested crust

Savings per Km. of Road Construction

Creation of North East Region

Infrastructure Development Board

• Combines Roadways and Railways in a single Project.

• Cost efficient.

• Example – South Korea etc. (Showed successful uses of same tunneling strategy).

• Centrally funded and controlled.

• Responsible for providing quick clearances, implementation of project, bifurcating charges to respective states.

{4}

{5} {6}

Double tunneling in Hills

Source: www.ippl.net.in

Demanding a separate state WITHIN Indian

Union

-KARBI-ANGLONG

-BODO

-DIMASA

-RABHA-HAJONG

-KOCH-RAJBONGSHIS

Demanding to break AWAY

from the Indian Union

1) NAGA 2)HNLC

3)ANVC 4)ULFA

5)TNV 6)PLA

7)PREPAK

It has led to communal politics and ethnic tensions.

Hindering growth and development due to lack of state and central co-operation.

Not resolving the identity crisis.

INSURGENCY

Insurgency discourages investment resulting in lack of growth and development.

Lack of mobility of physical and human resources.

Lack of economical growth in crucial field such as tourism sector, etc.

ILLEGAL MIGRATION

Leads to discontent and insurgency

Results in social tension and communalism

Shrinking job opportunities and leads to vote bank politics.

SOCIO-POLITICAL CHALLENGESThe social fabric and polity of a society lays down the basic institutional foundation based on which we envisage to

develop, the following explores the very challenges to that foundation.

SOLUTIONS TO SOCIO-POLITICAL CHALLENGES

INSURGENCY

Short Run Long Run

• Develop State Intelligence.

• Better law and order enforcement.

• Conclude the current negotiations with the insurgents.

• Education health and skills development.

• Job opportunities for youth.

• Resolving identity crisis.

ILLEGAL MIGRATION

Start detecting and deporting the illegal immigrants. Legalize work permit ranging over short run for low skilled workers as well.Maintain records such as UID such that identification of migrants in future becomes much easier.

FOR THE ONE’S DEMANDING A SEPARATE STATE (within Indian Union)

Give them some degree of liberalization by setting up autonomy councils in the disputed regions. Advance social opportunities in these disputed regions.

For preventing ethnic violence (which happened in

Assam last year, which left 77 DEAD and 4 Lacs

displaced)

Ratify the Land Border Agreement.

Ensure a peaceful transfer of 50 ,000 – 1,00,000

people involved.

Put a stop to illegal migration of

Bangladesh, change in population composition and resulting violence.

Bringing contentment among the dissatisfied and neglected NER population

Ensure Investment in the Human Capital of North

East.

Funding Health, Sanitation, Educati

on, etc.

Lead to higher utilization of the potential of North East

people and inculcate a general feeling of well -

being.

More attention to disputed regions

Appoint interlocutors

and move towards a conclusive

negotiation.

Providing liberal political power to

disputed regions by setting more autonomic institutions.

(1) (2) (3)

PROPOSING SOCIO-POLITICAL POLICIES WITH THEIR IMPACTSSocio-Political solutions involves the adoption of the majority view with the intention of providing equal welfare to the minority in order to

build a cohesive society such is also the aim of these policy measures

Better Law and Order, State Security and

drafting conclusive

negotiations with Insurgents

Influx of tourists in the region detained by the

insurgent.

Example – Garo Hills in Meghalaya, Dimasa Hills

in Assam.

Leading to higher employment

Utilization of Infrastructure, markets,

resources, etc

Youth will not take up arms against the government and its

people

Further participate in

local, state and central

governments levels

(4)

Contributing to higher state revenue, employment

HIGHER GDP

(5) Amendment in the 6th schedule of the Indian Constitution

providing autonomy to regions like KAAC, BTC, etc.

Ad-hoc village council at the lowest administration level can elect its own

members. Thus, ensuring better decentralized governance.

such that

Repression of NER’s Potential

Insurgency

Crippled Infrastr-ucture

Incompetent Governance

Ethnic Violence

Realization of NER’s Potential

Concerted political effort to weed out Insurgency

Boosting connect-

tivity

Efficient and sustainable Agriculture

Boosting Infrastruc

-ture

VICIOUS CYCLE OF POVERTY VIRTUOUS CYCLE OF PROSPERITY

Our Presentation till now has dealt with the Economic and Socio-Political Challenges impeding the growth potential of NER and looked in to ways to deal with them.

These two cycles, one dealing with the impediments to growth and other with the impetus to the same, brings forth in simplicity our view of realizing the dream of a vibrant and flourishing

North-East Region

The NER is a richly endowed region in terms of natural resources such as minerals, fertile land, riverbodies and a rich biodiversity.

The region has been vastly crippled due to its historical baggage, political negligence and a widespreadinsurgent and separatists’ movement.

Once the transit between South Asia and Mainland India, North-East needs to find its erstwhile gloryagain through the active participation of its polity and people.

Agriculture which is the stepping stone in economically empowering the rural folks of the regions needsto incorporate indigenous knowledge systems from across the region such as Zabo Farming system ofNagaland and Rice farming systems of the Apatanis of Arunachal to name a few. The branding of thesemethods as being "low productive," "primitive," and "old" can no longer be justified and therebyentertained.

The Central Government has given a major push to the region in the past decade and a half as a result ofits ‘Look East’ foreign policy providing assistance in terms of funds for infrastructural development, humancapital and overall development of the region to bring it on par with the rest of the country.

Factors such as Insurgency, crumbling Infrastructure, and impotent governance which have repressed theregions ability to grow and develop can be weeded out through strong political will, implementation ofinfrastructural projects, and development of the rural economy.

The people and the region as such have been alienated from the rest of the country and it is high timethat the contribution, both current and potential, of the region in the country’s development beappreciated.

The recipe for the development of NER needs to be prepared from the point of view of the region ratherthan being externally enforced, policy measures have to use the local knowledge base, ideas and innovateupon them to provide a sustainable roadmap for the inclusive development of the North-East Region.

CONCLUSION

REFERENCES

Agriculture:

Indigenous agricultural systems of Northeast India by Lalsiemlien Pulamtewww.Indiaagristat.com

Infrastructure:

Journal of Social and Development Sciences Vol. 2, No. 4, pp. 162-180, Oct 2011 (ISSN 2221-1152), Infrastructure and Regional Disparity A Case Of North Eastern Region of India by KomolSingha, Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bangalore, India. Performance Evaluation of Polymer Coated Bitumen Built Roads by Central Pollution Control Board, August, 2008

Socio-Political:

14th Home Secretary Level talks between India and Bangladesh, Press Information Bureauhttp://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=97344

Price Waterhouse Coopers NER Summit 2013http://www.pwc.in/en_IN/in/assets/pdfs/publications/2013/north-east_summit-2013.pdf

Indo-Bangladesh Enclaves (LBA)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-Bangladesh_enclaves

Bangladesh-India Land Border Issues and Management Brig Gen. Abdus Salam Chowdhury, National Defence College

Insurgency of NER (Secondary Source)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insurgency_in_Northeast_India

Historical Signing of the Land Border Agreement: September, 2011 by NDTV http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/india-bangladesh-sign-historic-boundary-agreement-teestatreaty-on-hold-

131829

Note on the figure of road construction:

*According to the Central Pollution Control Board study of the August, 2008 cited in the reference the cost of constructing 6.90 KM of polymer coated bitumen based roads in the NilgiriHills came to about 34.250 lacs. Therefore, the per km cost of constructing the road comes down to Rs. 4.5 lacs.** SARDP-NE : Special Accelerated Road Development Program – North East