Joshimath: Stop bulldozer development; Bihar rolls out Rs 500 crore caste Census; India’s data poverty
Opinion Watch
Joshimath: Stop bulldozer development
For over a decade geologists warned of an impending disaster in Joshimath, the launch city for the pilgrims to go to Badrinath temple. The habitations in Joshimath are sinking, with soil shifting underneath, and one may wonder how they were allowed in the first place, with no drainage. For that matter, how 50,000 squatters did occupy the Railway lands in Haldwani, if not without the state being in cahoots with mafia.
The Economic Times in an Editorial has called for an immediate cessation of mindless development in the fragile Himalayas, source of India’s river systems and biodiversity. The business daily came down heavily against the ‘pell-mell development’, saying that Joshimath is the proverbial canary, and also stressing that carrying capacity of town and region must weigh in the development model. It also sought a start for seriousness to environmental impact assessment, and action against illegal sand mining.
Uttarkhand, or for that matter any state in the country, is witnessing the timidity of the state to act against land and sand mafia. The courageous people who raise voices against them are killed. The 2013 Kedarnath Valley tragedy was forgotten so soon that Uttarakhand joyfully rode ‘development’ to usurp riverbeds. Environmentalists of late have been turned into villains of development. The mainstream media too is complicit, for subjects such as environment and ecology are too boring for them to build public discourse. The cost of the mess is before us, and it’s late now.
Bihar rolls out Rs 500 crore caste Census
Bihar votes for castes, and the state stays at the bottom of all the socio-economic indices. Bihar’s Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is called ‘Sushashan Babu’. Now, he has embarked on an exercise at a cost of Rs 500 crore to get the caste data of the state. One must not forget that India already had conducted the socio-caste economic census in 2012-13, and the government opted not to release the caste data. So, what Bihar is now doing is essentially repeating the exercise done nine years ago.
The Asian Age in an Editorial has questioned the exercise in Bihar, reminding that the state ranks 19 among 20 states on quality of education and healthcare; lists at bottom among 28 states and Union Territories on sustainable development goals (SDGs), and tops the multi-dimensional poverty index brought out by UNDP. The daily rubs in by saying that the people of Bihar are politically most conscious. This double-handed praise should make the people sit back and know that they have chosen to remain in a perennially poor state by choosing politicians who are caste-blinded.
India’s data poverty
For the first time since 1881, India has missed the decennially Census. Indian policies are still dependent on 2011 Census data. The Covid-19 pandemic was the convenient alibi to push the dates, now June 30 2023 for the commencement of the exercise. In the absence of data, conjectures rule the policy making.
The Hindu in an Editorial has lamented that frequent postponements of the Census exercise would seriously affect the availability of vital information. The Chennai-based daily also stated that the Census date would validate the mortality in the Covid-19 pandemic, while stating that there exists no excuses to postpone the exercise. It also argued that the inter-state population disparities and the delimitation exercise of Parliamentary constituencies await the Census data.
The Narendra Modi-led NDA government has been seen to be data shy and even of reports submitted by committees constituted by the Prime Minister.
About The Author
