‘No development without stability’
Jharkhand Chief Minister RAGHUBAR DAS, in an interview with Shikha Shalini, talks about the development the state has seen under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s stewardship. Edited excerpts:
Jharkhand has almost 40 per cent of India’s mineral resources. Why has it been an underperformer?
A major reason for this is political instability in the state for 14 years. In Jharkhand, an Investor Global Summit was organised in 2017. We signed a substantial number of memoranda of understanding (MoUs). Every month, I take reports regarding grassroots level work related to these MoUs. It will take two to three years to complete these projects. The second reason is that Jharkhand is rich in steel, copper and other mineral resources, and in the international markets, the prices of minerals declined. But investment in the public sector, especially in the infrastructure sector such as roads and power, has increased tremendously. In the state, infrastructure-related work worth ~490 billion is going on. Work related to the power sector worth ~200 billion is in progress.
There is also a lot of investment in education and health, such as private universities and private hospitals. In Deoghar we have got the All India Institute of Medical Sciences and here the OPD will start in 2019. During Narendra Modi’s prime ministership, five medical colleges are going to be opened. Now we will have eight medical colleges. Before this the Jharkhand region had three medical colleges in 67 years.
Which major companies are investing in Jharkhand and how much investment has been done to date?
My focus is on job-based medium- and smallscale industries. With mechanisation, employment has come down. For example, a textile unit with an investment of just ~10 million gives employment to 70 people. We have the best textile policy in the country and renowned companies in this sector are working in the state. Likewise, 89 food-processing units are underway and we are holding the Global Agriculture Food Processing Summit on November 29-30, when 50 MoUs are expected to be signed. The textile park, which will start in Ranchi in November, is expected to generate 4,000 jobs. Apart from this, food-processing plants are coming up and will be completed by June next year. Work on Adani’s and NTPC's power plants in Patrattu is on. Adani is investing ~150 billion in the power plant.
The division of the states was done to bring about development. But why are results not on expected lines?
Under the leadership of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the NDA government divided three states. In terms of development, regional imbalance in Jharkhand was very high. As long as there is no political stability, it is useless to talk about development because in such a situation, the government becomes fragile. There were nine chief ministers in 14 years. Now it has a stable government.
Its lowest per capita income in the country is not a big crisis?
Naturally it is low. But if you compare the per capita income in 2000 and that in the current year, you will see a change. But I agree that the per capita income of the tribals has not increased and we are now paying attention to it.
You are the first non-tribal chief minister of the state. Do you see any displeasure among the tribals because of this?
There is no discontent among the tribals on account of this. I’ll complete four years of my tenure. Have you seen any dissatisfaction in any media regarding this? The government is for all — the tribals, non-tribals or Muslims. Our prime minister’s motive is “Sabka sath sabka vikas” and this is being literally followed in Jharkhand.
Don’t you think you have failed to read the pulse of tribal Jharkhand in the light of the Pathalgadi movement?
Some anti-state and anti-development forces started this movement and they have a major role in the backwardness of the state. But now it's over. Christian missionaries who are doing land deals in the name of schools and hospitals are behind this. The Constitution has given all the right to propagate their religion but not the right to forcible conversion. We initiated the conversion law that says no one can use conversion as a lever to manipulate. Under this law, there is a provision of four years' imprisonment and fine of ~100,000. Because of this, their frustration has increased.
But this law was seen as vote bank policy of the government.
It is not a matter of vote bank. The missionaries were trying to prevent tribals from getting the benefits the state offers and they pushed them into backwardness so that they lure them with small blandishments. There is a conspiracy to set up missionary schools by shutting down government schools. Missionaries should reveal how much tribal land they have seized.
There is also resentment among your party leaders, including tribals, with regard to the Tribal Tenancy Act. The provision of a Social Impact Survey was also removed and there is an allegation of favouring companies.
There are two tenancy laws in the state — the Chotanagpur Tenancy (CNT) Act, 1908, and the Santhal Pargana Tenancy (SPT) Act, 1949. Amendments to the both the Acts were proposed in the Assembly to simplify government work but some legislators had objected to that. So subsequently this proposal was withdrawn.After that, amendment to the Land Acquisition Act was proposed. Amendment has happened in the Land Acquisition Act not in the CNT Act. That amendment is only to the extent that a social impact assessment will not be required in the case of government projects that have been listed, like health, education, anganwadi, road, and transmission lines. We said instead of a social impact survey for government projects the approval of gram sabhas will be required. But some people provoked the tribals into opposition to this. Our proposal was that projects meant for positive social impact would not require a social impact assessment. The rest all the projects like irrigation dams, which may have some adverse social impact, assessment will not be exempted. For all the private sector projects, the Land Acquisition Act of 2013 will be applicable.
It was reported that problems related to payment under social welfare schemes have piled up after they were linked to Aadhaar. What’s your reaction to that?
The country should thank the Prime Minister for giving benefits of welfare schemes through DBT (direct benefit transfer). With the implementation of DBT, the corruption of the intermediaries has been recognised. Around 1.25 million fake ration cards were detected in the state and now we are able to save ~4.50 billion. I accept some incidents happened because of Aadhaar but I must tell you If you change a system that was benefiting a minister, a secretary or any other lower staff member, they try to fail the system. There were such complaints about the public distribution system (PDS). We investigated and suspended the PDS shopkeeper.
There were reports of fraudulently deleting the accounts of about 300,000 pensioners.
Around 86,000 pensioners were not legitimate in the social security scheme. The accounts of those who died were running. We are requesting people to return the card in such cases. So far 22,000 cards have been surrendered. .
Do you think Yashwant Sinha's anger at the BJP government can influence the assembly and the Lok Sabha elections in Jharkhand?
There will be no impact. The people of Jharkhand or the people of the country vote for the party and the party leadership.
Do you think the BJP’s performance in 2014 will be repeated?
We are hoping to win the two Lok Sabha seats we did not get in 2014 because the tribals are listening to us. Tribals have been given gas stoves with LPG cylinders. Jharkhand is the first state where gas stoves are being given. Now young people want development and employment, and they have found the prime minister is working in that direction. In the name of politics and religion, the Congress is engaged in damaging the unity and integrity of the country. The voter is aware of this.