The development of the marginalised section in Odisha depends on access to natural, intellectual and financial resources. It is the duty of the Government to ensure free access of all people to various forms of resources of the State without legal, social and physical barriers of any form. But the poor and marginalised section has been deprived of owning resources for their development largely due to failure of last 70 years elected Government in implementing the constitutional mandate which very clearly spells out State’s role in ensuring democratisation of resources of any form. Lack of resources makes people unskilled wage labourers and migrant workers in large scale.
The continued State charity, relief, loan waiver, subsidy , support price, and temporary cash distribution in the name of agriculture development out of public money are certainly not the solution to persistent economic backwardness and cannot lead to a higher standard of living of the common masses, unless productive assets are not given to them. Rather it is an attempt by the Government to make people unproductive and forced them to live under mercy of State charity in most undignified manner.
How long the schemes such as Rs1 per kg rice, Rs 5 meal and schemes of Rs 5,000 for farm labourers and farmers and free distribution of mobile will continue out of public fund? Does such show of charity really help? How these schemes are contributing to improve the standard of living of the poor with dignity by generating employment, income, production and self-sufficiency is a matter of observation. Political decisions of ruling elite must not go for a bad economy that delink people from production process and encourage wage slavery and distress migration.
Historically, people’s ownership over resources and its utilisation has been taken away by the subsequent rulers of the past and even after the implementation of constitutional governances, it is found that largely the provisions are not implemented. The trend has been continuing without much change over it.
For any kind of production, employment and income, productive assets are highly required and these resources such as land, water, forest and minerals are slowly getting privatized for the corporates while the rights of marginalized people of the locality are denied. For last seventy years, our natural resources and financial resources are handed over to private corporates but not to the people to make a living out of it. The sea coast , rivers ,lake , water bodies , water resources , forest ,timber ,minor forest produces , hills , minerals, pastures ,agriculture fields etc. , are leased out in through-away price depriving the locals of livelihood. Their legal rights and physical access are restricted through legislations and by using State police. This process has alienated the people from resources as well as production process and pushing them to vulnerability without resources.
Not only natural resources but also financial resources created out of budgetary allocation and institutional financial arrangements by nationalized banks are not reaching to vast majority of marginalized sections. The credit policy for the marginalized by Reserve Bank of India has been violated by all the banks in case of banking with the poor. The policy of collateral security, bank guarantee, mortgage and schemes and project related deals are not adhered to. The people of the backward areas and areas having large concentration of marginalized sections have very minimal institutional credit facilities to meet the timely credit requirement of the people.
While moving towards knowledge society the third most important resource is intellectual resources that can be acquired through quality education but the education system of the State is graded with social and economic status. The children of the rural poor and marginalized sections are sent to residential schools and vernacular medium while the upper class/caste urban rich are sent to quality English medium schools. The language policy and medium of instruction and curriculums are also qualitatively different. The teachers and non-teaching staffs of the so-called residential schools run by the Government are less paid and the quality of teaching is not at par with other schools. The scope of higher education and technical education with trend of privatization has become minimal for the poor and marginalized. The policy of affirmative action in education has not been monitored by the State Government and even the policy is not being followed to ensure the representation of the students as per their percentage of population of the State. Education is one of the important means of building human resources.
The quality education, public employment opportunities, credit facilities, subsidies, permits, supply, contracts, lease and all other forms of intellectual and financial resources are available to very few people of the State who have monopolized these opportunities, created out of public fund, for generation together with active political backing through legislations and policy decisions. The Government must widen the scope of universal public employment through State investment and democratise its scope by abolishing all forms of barriers against the marginalized sections while ensuring their full participation in social and economic life.
The people of the State are not homogeneous and there are diversity and local specific differences based on status and identities where social and language barriers are major reasons of economic backwardness as people of lower caste and linguistic minority with historical denial have restricted access to intellectual and financial resources.
The unfair distribution of resources has contributed to the growth of inequality and widening the disparity at regional and social level and furthering the process of economic marginalisation. It is worsening the condition of the people. The rich –poor gap is getting widened and vast section of people is getting detached from the production process making them dependent on State relief. This is not a sign of a good economy. The State much make attempt to link people with production by ensuring ownership over productive assets such as land, water, quality education, institutional credit and socially empower them by enhancing their social, political participation at various level. The ongoing economic interventions may help a ruling class to gain short term political power but it will have huge ramifications in the long run.