📌 INEQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT

There is something deeply unsettling about the way we pursue development in India today. We are increasingly fascinated by what is big and “modern” so airports, expressways and highways, bridges and tunnels are being built whether they are needed or not; the larger the concrete structures, the more impressive the development. It’s another matter that 15 regional airports had to suspend scheduled flights shortly after inauguration due to a lack of takers, high operating costs and being commercially non-viable. Nobody knows if these airports will ever become functional but the taxpayer’s money has gone down the drain.

Development is not seen in drastically reducing the Infant Mortality Rate or making functional, viable Primary Health Centres (PHCs) where a real doctor is available and there are real medicines in stock. Development is also not seen in building toilets for children, specially girls, in rural schools, connecting remote villages by proper link roads nor is it seen in upgrading the quality of education in schools and colleges in small towns and villages. Making available good quality health and education which should be the first priority of any government does not fit into the “Visible Symbols of Progress” template. And perversely, the government has shut down 94,000 government schools where poor children could study.

The Union Budget numbers tell you what kind of development is happening. Between 2013-14 and 2026-27, the share of education in total Union expenditure has fallen from about 4.6% in 13-14 to 2.5% in 26-27, while health remained stagnant at 2% in 13-14 and 26-27. In the same period, the allocation for roads and highways has risen from about 1.8 per cent in 13-14 to nearly 5.8 per cent in 26-27, almost trebled.

This is not an argument against highways and airports where they are needed. But what kind of development are we aspiring to if cities receive preferential treatment and the hinterland and its people are so neglected that they are forced to migrate in order to pursue some kind of healthcare and education. This is not development, this is discrimination.