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Patna, (Bihar Times): Finance Minister never misses to point out central investment whenever he makes any provision for the underdeveloped region. I wonder why he never points out the extent of central government investment in Tamil Nadu. AS per MOSPI's data recently released; total central investment in Tamil Nadu projects, as monitored by MOSPI, is at RS 409 bn as against Rs 289 billion each for other three states vying for the second position which includes Bihar. Common sense says that central government should concentrate on underdeveloped regions. This is happening even when states like TN enjoy a head start over underdeveloped states through favourable treatment over a prolonged period. Finance minister never misses to highlight whatever he provides explicitly for underdeveloped states.Why  doesn't he ever look into how much money is being surreptitiously diverted to better off states using skillfully crafted policies. Lot of leading commentators have attributed it to the lack of sub-nationalistic feeling in heartland states. Do you reward only those states which blackmail the unity of India by asserting their regional identities every now and then?
 
Policies governing other important schemes are also an unmitigated failure. Take for example the specific case of NHDPIII projects. Making mockery of even the avowed policies governing this program which would have implied that a state at national cross road would be getting more NHDP III for four lane program, we have TN sitting at the head of table with 3261KM of length. Contrast this with the lengths planned for Bihar, which is just about 1750 Km. This is when Bihar is strategically located at the national, and virtually a Trans-Asian, cross road. This conundrum is difficult to explain even in the light of existing governing policies for identifying stretches for four lane program. Compounding it further, even the pace of implementation seems to have been designed to keep underdeveloped regions even further behind. This prompts me to rename 'National Highway Authority of India(NHAI)' as 'State Highway Authority of Tamilnadu(SHAT)'. Machinations of NHAI is beyond my comprehension.
 
Situation is no better in relation to other critical infrastructure programs like National Gas Grid. Here also, policy seems to favour developed regions in west and south. East and North East have been virtually ignored. I don't understand how these regions are going to compete with rest of India when they are put to such disadvantages in matter of all these crucial infrastructure?
 
Let us take some other example, like distribution of academic and research institutions as also distribution of institutions of economic and strategic importance. This again leads us to complete failure of central policy makers.  While HRD minister waxes eloquent about lack of technical and higher education institutes in Bihar but when it comes to locating any such upcoming institute, he goes into selective amnesia. Till very recently, Bihar which is one of the most populous states had hardly anything to show, even when, all major states boasted of over 30 academic and research institutions. This number for developed states jumped to over 40 if we add other institutions of economic and strategic importance.  Nothing significant to show for Bihar even then. Paradoxically, no effort is being made even now to rectify this prevailing imbalance.
 
It is difficult to explain what leads to mixing of the policies and programs favouring underdeveloped regions at the very outset. What can be more evident than the failure to move ahead with harnessing of the water resources of rivers originating from Nepal for the mutual benefit of the two countries, especially, eastern UP and Bihar in India? The matter has been entangled into excessive diplomatic dialogue, whereby, it has fuelled apprehensions in Nepal. Giving some benefit to its smaller neighbour, if India can stop this massive wastage of natural resource, it can do a lot of good for its own economy as also for the economy of Nepal. However, it seems that even diplomatic dialogues are designed to checkmate the interest of Bihar and UP.
 
Similarly, there are many other policy anomalies. It can be seen in the outline of JNNURM as also in traditionally followed metro-centric development approach. If it is high speed train or expressway it must lead to metro cities always. Why these cann't be between any other two capital or other important cities?  Why all head offices, nodal offices, regulatory offices must always be located in certain preferred cities only?  Why courts, registrars etc in these four cities should have more authority than others. Why a state owned inland water vessel of Bihar has to be registered at Kolkata and not at Patna? There was no credible effort ever made to develop cities like Ranchi, Patna, Allhabad and Banaras on the line of other big cities even when they merited such a treatment all along.  Ranchi has all the potential to be on par with Bangalore and Pune, where as Patna could have been developed like Delhi. Gaya and Banaras had potential to be developed into an international city. However, this would have required central government offices, CPSU head offices, academic and research institutions being located in these places. It seems no one ever thought of these things till now.
 
People easily recognize the policy biases like freight equalization, or for that matter location of head offices of CPSUs and Banks. However, it is sometime difficult to realize the damages done by induced critical delays, which keeps some regions perennially backward by putting them at competitive disadvantage perennially, especially, during the important phase of dependent economic activity. Even more difficult to see through is the impact of policy decisions like one time measures on the pattern of farm loan waiver. This is because these policy biases though high in impact are 'point of time' in nature.
 
It is very important that Eastern States which are potentially the richest, based on their agro and mineral potential, do recognize the root causes of their underdevelopment. It is high time that complete control and full right to exploit the mineral resources be reverted  to states owning the reserves of these minerals. It does not help, if we protect the regional identities as ferociously as we are doing today, and still have federal control on state specific resources. This single act can solve a lot of problem of underdevelopment of mineral rich regions of Jharkhand, Orissa, Chhatishgarh and Madhypradesh.
 
If the facts indicate to cotrary as evidenced in backwardness of regions which should have been the richest in first place, there is something seriously wrong with or economic and developmental policies.
 
Recommendation:
 
To stem this rot emanating at central administration level, Bihar government can do well by setting up a special cell under the state planning board for scrutinizing central government’s policies, plans and programs. Additionally, this proposed cell should also monitor the state specific projects stuck at the central level. This cell must have an expert full time member, with their employment period co-terminus with state government. It  should scrutinize the impact of each and every central government policies and programs on the state. It should be suitably empowered and must have the mandate to take up the issue with concerned central ministries and departments as it may deem fit. Besides, these members shall also be responsible for enunciating programs and policies at the state administration level. They should also be entrusted with the task of monitoring the implementation and should be empowered enough to take remedial action riding roughshod over the bureaucratic bottlenecks.
 
It is high time that positive changes are induced in the central policies and programs to enable underdeveloped regions to do better. It can be nobody's case to rob Peter to pay Paul as is being done today. Neither such policies are economically justified nor do they serve any useful purpose in the prevailing socio-political milieu of the country.