10 years on, a dekko at Gujarat government’s report card

Hype and hyperbole all around. This report card looks at facts and figures from the Gujarat government and those gleaned through RTIs, in as many diverse fields as I could find. So let us go over these and come to sensible conclusions, beyond the mesmerising branding.

Agriculture: While agricultural growth has gone up, food grain production has come down significantly, from 82 lakh tonne in 2007-08 to 56 lakh tonne in 2009-10. This year, budget meant for encouraging farmers to grow food grains has been cut by 97%. Twenty-one lakh farmers have lost their top soil to floods and less than 10% have received any compensation. Farmers who have spent money digging tubewells but have no electricity are being asked to cough up nearly Rs1 lakh for electric poles. Close to 500 farmers commit suicide due to economic distress every year.

Education: Dozens of primary municipal schools are being shut down, much to the trouble of the poor. Almost 58% of children drop out of school. For middle class parents in a city, school 0education is a major financial drain. Expenses behind education have gone up to Rs1 lakh from Rs33,000 five years ago. Sex education has been banned. Also 80,000 children are engaged in BT cotton fields instead of being at school.

Nutrition: Close to 46% of all our children, rich and poor, are malnourished or underweight, deficiency that they will never make up. Close to 70% of our women are anaemic.

Investments: Only 7% of foreign direct investment coming to India comes to Gujarat. Less than 21% of the billions worth of MoUs signed during Vibrant Gujarat summits is translated into contracts, much less have fructified into factories. Even though industries are growing at a fast pace, employment is down.

Narmada: In Bavla, Sanand and Dholka, six years after canals were built there are cracks every few steps, and not a drop of water has flown through them. Almost 94% of Narmada waters go to industries leaving Saurashtra and Kutch without water for most part of the year.

Women: Crimes against women are up three-fold and Ahmedabad city now has the dubious distinction of being the third worst city in the country in this respect. Over 10,000 women have been attacked over the last four years.

Industry and corruption: The Nano plant was given to the Tata's allegedly at Rs900 per sq mt when prices should have been Rs10,000. Loss to Gujarat - Rs33,000 crore. Adanis were given land for the Mundra port at Rs1 per sq m where the actual cost was several thousand times over. Loss to the exchequer was not calculated. L&T also got land at this price.

Essar Steel was allowed to break Supreme Court directions and encroach CRZ and forest land. Navsari Agricultural University's land was given away to a hotel group at throwaway prices causing a loss of Rs426 crore.

Sitting minister Purshottam Solanki gave away fishing rights to lakes without tenders. The loss to the exchequer was more than Rs40 crore. He continues to be minister.

Corruption cases of hundreds of thousands remain untouched - Rs30,000 crore in the Sujalam Sufalam and other minor canal schemes, Rs109 crore in the Boribundh scam, to name just two. Gujarat Vigilance Commission receives about 20,000 corruption complaints each year encompassing every single department.

These are glimpses of a larger truth. Do we want to search it through? Or shall we continue being blinded by the sleight of hand?