All Poor are equal, but some Poor are more equal than others

“Poverty and deprivation get covered as events” writes P. Sainath in his critically acclaimed and bestselling book ‘Everybody loves a good drought stories from India’s poorest districts’ “Yet, poverty is about much more than starvation deaths or near famine conditions. It is the sum total of a multiplicity of factors… Hunger-again just one aspect of poverty-is far more complex here. It is more low level, less visible and does not make for the dramatic television footage that Somalia and Ethiopia do.” Off late, with release of movies like Slumdog Millionaire and with tourist coming here solely for the purpose of clicking the deprived class, the poverty and the poor has seen massive dramatization in India and the world. But when it comes to counting them for the purpose of their welfare, the whole task becomes much more complicated as understanding the poverty as a process in India.

The Central Government on Thursday May 19^th, 2011 approved the proposal of head counts of poor in the country, for the sole purpose of better targeting of the numerous welfare schemes it operates. First such census was done in the year 1992 to count the number of families below poverty line. This time it would be a paperless exercise using handheld devices manufactured by Bharat Electronics Limited. Apart from counting rural poor, which used to be done earlier, this time urban poor would also be enumerated. The Ministry of Rural Development, Housing and Urban poverty alleviation, which is the nodal ministry to conduct this exercise, along with Registrar General of India would jointly conduct this exercise. A new methodology for determination of poor would be used, according to Business Standard “The new methodology for the rural census would divide the rural poor into three sections. One set of the population would be included in the BPL category, while another set of people — the economically affluent but socially deprived — would be excluded from the BPL category. A third set of the population would be enumerated on the basis of seven socio-economic parameters. The methodology for the rural census would consider the economic conditions of the family and attach only moderate importance to factors like social backwardness. The urban population would be enumerated on the basis of three criteria — residential status, social vulnerability and occupational vulnerability.” However there is a catch, for the first time religion and caste would come into picture, that is, the religion and caste of those counted would also be determined.

Although this mammoth exercise of determination and labeling of poor would be undertaken by the Ministry of Rural Development, Housing and Urban poverty alleviation along with Registrar General of India. But those who will get benefits would be only identified by the Plan Panel. As report in Mint says, “While the Planning Commission estimates the number of poor in the country, the ministry of rural development identifies the poor. The processes used by the two are different: the Planning Commission estimates poverty based on consumption, while the BPL census uses socio-economic characteristics such as household assets.” Therein lays the anomaly. Though data would be determined on a different basis, the information from it would be extracted from it using totally different criteria.

This only shows serious lacunae in Government policy making at the highest echelons of the governance. The editorial in the Mint bluntly puts it like this,” On the list of this government’s most serious lapses in policymaking, this one should rank somewhere near the top. The below poverty line census, due to its methodology approved on Thursday, will identify more poor households than officially estimated. But, because the government has also decided that the official estimates will serve as a ceiling, the additional poor families will not benefit from poverty alleviation schemes. In other words, the government will pick and choose who is to be officially poor and who isn’t. India has always had trouble with the ways and means of defining poverty and identifying the poor. But Thursday’s decision says something about the government’s confusion over the political handling of poverty. It is almost as if the aam aadmi’s government was telling some of its votaries: “You may be poor, but you ain’t poor enough”.”

More than Rs. 612, 000, 000,000/- (Rupees Six Hundred Twelve Billion) is spend annually by the Government on welfare of poor and how much actually reaches them is the mystery of the millennium. As it is no state secret that government programs for welfare of poor are usually not in sync with actual requirement and often the money flows out through the bureaucratic leakages. If they are not, the schemes provide incentives for diverting the resources meant for poor, for example, in National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (or loot if you prefer) monies are given for digging up pits and filling them up and calling it work.

 

Now if to this determination of poor, if we add in the factors of religion and caste, instead of a portable solution to this chronic problem, it would only provide a heady cocktail to the political parties, dry gunpowder which can be lightened up by smallest spark. Further, Supreme Court in many occasions has pulled up Plan Panel for putting a ceiling on the number of poor in the country as if putting a ceiling would end India’s poverty problem. The Mint reports that in one such instance the Honorable Court observed,” The bench made the critical remarks while dealing with a PIL filed by Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) complaining about large scale corruption and irregularities in the PDS mechanism of the country. Questioning the plan panel rational in fixing 36% as the percentage of BPL families in the country, the bench said, “It is astonishing as to how you can fix 36% people in the BPL category in 2011 by relying on the 1991 census data… How can you fix such a limit when the per capita income varies from state to state?... The bench also questioned the Commission for fixing the per capita daily income of Rs. 20 in urban areas and Rs. 11 in rural areas to determine the BPL category…How can you justify fixation of this meager amount when even in the rural areas the amount is not enough”, further the Bench also extolled Deputy Chairman of Plan Panel to file a comprehensive affidavit in this regard. Now with such arbitrariness in determination and selection, isn’t the government is playing with the taxpayer’s money.

Milton Friedman once quipped about government spending,” There are four ways in which you can spend money. You can spend your own money on yourself. When you do that, why then you really watch out what you’re doing, and you try to get the most for your money. Then you can spend your own money on somebody else. For example, I buy a birthday present for someone. Well, then I’m not so careful about the content of the present, but I’m very careful about the cost. Then, I can spend somebody else’s money on myself. And if I spend somebody else’s money on myself, then I’m sure going to have a good lunch! Finally, I can spend somebody else’s money on somebody else. And if I spend somebody else’s money on somebody else, I’m not concerned about how much it is, and I’m not concerned about what I get. And that’s government.” With such anomaly at the highest level which in fact will direct expenditure of billions of rupees, done with arbitrary manner, is it worthwhile to ask, whom the government is trying to please, itself by claiming poverty is down, its finances by claiming they are doing things efficiently or the electorates by providing benefits to chosen few and beating its chest to the rest about reduction in poverty.

“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others” writes George Orwell in his famous book ‘Animal Farm’, today a poor might say, “All poor are equal, but some poor are more equal than others.”

© Tarun Mitra

References:-

1.      Mint, “Quick Edit | Uncommon incertitude”, May 20, 2011

2.      Mint, “UPA courts trouble with BPL census”, May 20, 2011

3.      Business Standard, “Cabinet approves BPL census”, May 20, 2011

4.      Mint, “SC slams govt over fixing BPL criteria”, April 20, 2011

A Hit in the middle- How to reward inefficiency and lawlessness

Yet again, government has proved why the things in India are what they are, because here whistleblowers are damned, what is being rewarded is inefficiency and lawlessness. And Delhiities are hit in the middle, middle of their legs.

If punches and kicks of 11% inflation and 100% food inflation was not enough, and if withdrawal of power subsidy hasn’t broken their backs, then this surely will, a lean and clean jolt between the legs which might leave them gasping for breath. DTC has increased its fare by close to percent, thereby traveling by CNG car cheaper than ferrying a bus. Invariably, the private operators like the ‘deadly’ Blueline services in Delhi will also increase its prices. At one shot, government has rewarded the inefficiency of the state owned Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) and lawlessness of Blueline operators (an organization which left more than 94 Delhiities dead in the road last year).

The Inefficient Giant

DTC is the largest single transport company of Delhi. It is a giant and an inefficient one for sure. For years it was going under losses, and heavy losses. This was the time when Government thought of giving private operators a chance, sometimes in 1993, and what a chance that was. Sooner most the buses of the DTC were locked up in the depots, and keys were forgotten. A respite came when a Supreme Court order of making public transport in Delhi to be run on CNG lead to a strike amongst the private operators. This is where government and DTC stepped in to revive the Public Sector Enterprise. The private buses were taken over by DTC on a contract from their owners and ran by the DTC. Meanwhile new buses were ordered, fresh dreams were woven, till the government rescinded the contracts and DTC were to run its own buses.

However much of the things remained under the cover. DTC kept operating, new low floor buses and A/C buses were ordered and they began operation. All seemed well to end Delhi’s transport woes, woes developed from the city’s obsession with cars, until last day when the government declared the hike, a reward for the inefficient company a hit in the middle of the consumers.

When DTC came into what it is in 1972, it initiated a Student Concessionary Pass program for Rs. 12.50 (per month or per 3 months I don’t remember, I’ve last used them in 2002 the year contracts were rescinded), it remained unchanged till now, when it is being increased to Rs. 100, a welcome move but which should be bought in much earlier. Wasn’t DTC making loss with Rs. 12.50 pass earlier, or it was just a tool to appease student voters so that they kept voting the government to the power. And when water of losses crossed the limits, students are hit in the middle. It is just one instances of inefficiency of the giant. And piling up of these has lead to such situation.

The Lawless Operator

A chance was grabbed with both hands, chance was the Delhi’s population, and the grabbers make it sure that it is squeezed, squished, smashed, short changed and looted. The grabbers were the Red line operators, aptly named dead-lines, who kept their murderous streak for few years on Delhi road, before some sanity prevailed in the government (out of fear of election backlash off course) and they were replaced. But replacement proved equally deadly, the Blue Line services are never known to obey any kind of transport rules. The honk, they overfill, they speed, they break traffic rules, they ran bribing ring, and the list is endless. Last year not a day was passed without an incident involving these buses, more than 94 people were killed by them, few of them ever dragged for a mile. Most of the drivers don’t seem to have a valid license until last year when a drive was launch to persecute the erring drivers. But still even today their rudeness rules the roads of Delhi. And with this rise, it is only tend to rise, because they will raise the tickets prices anyway, they have an habit of adopting bad practices and ignoring good practices.

But the question is what keeps them going? Even with the large amount of accidents involving them, why the conviction is so low. The foremost and predominant reason is that they are being controlled by kin of the politicians or the politicians themselves or under various aliases. The politicians enjoy an unwritten immunity in our ‘democratic’ country; a special power available not even to Army Generals. And they know, given our arthritic judiciary, that they will surely get their way, and things go on as usual unless another one is dragged for a mile. Is it for this dragging that we have to pay more: more just to relieve ourselves that worth of a life is not one or two rupees it is more than that.

Question of Green and Public Transport

Delhiities love their cars, no wonder why over third of cars sold in the country are gobbled up by Delhiities. Not only they purchase the cars, they also want to show off, that is why most of the time there is bumper-to-bumper traffic in Delhi. Just imagine how many gallons of fuel are burned to sustain them. That is what makes the question of public transport more relevant.

Delhi is said to have the finest infrastructure of any metros in India. However, even this finest is not good enough. On a peak hour, one can easily find traffic moving in snail’s pace in most of the parts of Delhi. Even, touted as one of the best highways in the country, the Delhi-Gurgaon Highway sees python-like traffic jams. With the massive pressure of the population, the infrastructure in Delhi is crumbling like a cookie, taking the environment along with it.

“We have all along been saying that personal vehicle s shouldn’t be incentivized at the cost of public transport. We have done a survey and found out that the cost of riding a motorcycle comes to Rs. 1 per km. If the government increases the fare of buses to recover the cost of investment they are making in the buses, people with the means to buy a motorcycle would surely be weaned away from the public transport……In 2001, buses in the Capital accounted for 60 percent of total daily travelers. This has now come down just to 43 percent” observes Anumita Roychowdhury of Centre for Science and Environment. And rightly so, If number private vehicles increases in the streets, it will put the pressure in the infrastructure, it would increase the demand for oil. Increase in demand leads to increase in price of the commodity that is simple economics. This in turn will lead to the further increase in the cost of transport (both public and private). Increased use of oil will lead to increased pollution. It is just the plain old vicious cycle.

The Commercial Sense

The commercial reason provided for this increase is the one that will send experienced managers into a tizzy. Such increase is done in order to build new fleet of buses; it is the reason which is being provided by the government. Hardly digestible, no it isn’t, certainly nowhere in the business world you would see the investment is directly being linked to the revenue. Investment decisions are taken taking in consideration the current revenue and future revenue trends. And revenue decisions are accordingly taken taking into consideration the expenditure incurred, the investment to be made and most importantly in this case, the working capital. Above all these, a company have to be sure that it makes adequate profits and revenue streams must be kept running with adequate price for the service sold. But here increase is for the investment, hardly a reason as investment is done also by raising resources externally. But that requires efficient use of resources. Again it is hardly a DTC’s bailiwick.

“The hike is unwarranted. By increasing the fare, the government has rewarded the Blueline operators and inefficient DTC. The DTC has demanded higher fares on the basis of the fact that they are building a new fleet of low-floor buses. But these buses account for only 10 percent of the total bus fleet of DTC. The hike is also not going to improve the efficiency and reliability of DTC” says S.P. Singh, a senior fellow at Indian Foundation of Transport Research. He is quite right in pointing out that whether such increase will lead to more reliability and efficiency.

Conclusion

In the times where there is unprecedented rise prices was not giving enough fight to the people, the times where arbitrary power supplier was not giving hell to the Delhiities with inflated bill and erratic power, it was the last thing require to get the ‘common man’ (aam admi) down, kick in the middle.

A decision only to reward inefficiency and lawlessness.

© Tarun Mitra