To turbocharge India’s economy, the Government has to encourage more people to fly and speed up work on high-speed rail projects
Moving hundreds of thousands of people around reliably, quickly and safely is to ensure that the lifeblood of an economy keeps flowing. The problem, as we have often mentioned, is that across the country, infrastructure is lacking, which can keep up with the increase in travel that a growing economy needs. Many projects get lost in the labyrinth full of rent-seekers and worse, ‘Not In My Backyard’ (NIMBY’s) who will use any argument possible to derail projects.
These selfish people, who will take advantage of projects but refuse to put up with the construction and temporary inconvenience, are responsible for fiascos such as the Rao Tula Ram flyover in New Delhi, a project that was stalled and and then the scope of it reduced, leaving Delhi-ites with a ‘half-flyover’ and several jams. Individuals who stalled the project include a few ‘journalists’, including two ‘liberal icons’ who lose no opportunity to attack the Modi Government, because in the earlier days, they could stall such developments. Thousands of missed flights are on their hands.
NIMBY’s are clever people and will often disguise their arguments on tenuous environmental grounds and will do anything to delay a project. Some of these people have worked overtime to stall the development of the Mumbai metro and the Navi Mumbai airport. There is no doubt that certain projects are damaging and there is often collusion between developers and bureaucrats on the ‘Environmental Impact Assessment’ report, and these must be carefully studied, but further delays to projects often has a more damaging environmental impact over the long run.
More people on the road in the case of delays to the Mumbai metro leads to more poisonous gases and more particulate matter. When projects of such national importance are sped up, as can be witnessed on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway and the Eastern and Western Peripheral Expressway that should be completed by next year, they will actually help in reducing congestion and ergo, improve air quality.
Of course, there are other arguments, often specious that are used to attack other projects, such as high-speed rail across the country. The fact is that China did not have an inter-city network of high-speed railways until just over a decade ago. Today, there are over 22,000 kilometers of high-speed track across China connecting major population centres. This high-speed rail network has not just allowed China to move faster, it has also reduced traffic on China’s regular train networks, allowing for dedicated freight networks.
In addition, the massive rollout of high-speed rail systems by China have allowed our eastern neighbour to become a global powerhouse in high-speed rail technology from trainsets to signalling. This has allowed China to export high-speed rail systems across the world and make high-speed rail one of the cornerstones of the Belt and Road Initiative.
Of course, India will take longer to catch up, but the malcontents, particularly those who preach the virtues of povertarianism and handout politics, argue that India cannot afford high-speed rail because it will not benefit the poor. They fail to understand that quick development of such major infrastructure will lead to not just a huge infusion of cash into the economy but also create thousands of direct jobs.
In addition, the development of high-speed rail systems will create skills and usage of high-speed rail. This will not only free up existing train lines that can be used to transport cargo but also free up airspace for more flights. In the long run, high-speed rail projects across India will speed things up and allow for faster economic growth.
Yes, many people will not be able to afford high-speed rail initially, but many people could not afford flights for a long time, is that a reason to not build airportsIJ In Taiwan, a new High-Speed Rail project was criticised, but its opening led to renewed economic growth in the island nation as well as freeing up huge amount of airport slots.
Talking of airports, the Government does need to double down on civil aviation infrastructure. The Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) has led to several new airports joining the aviation map of India, such as Jaisalmer but as airline bosses have pointed out, many of these routes have become profitable already. The problem with civil aviation in India has one major crux, that is, India’s biggest airports are running out of space. Take Delhi for example, despite the new Terminal 3 opening less than a decade ago, Delhi is running past its sanctioned capacity, leading to the airport restarting operations at Terminal 2. Even then, with new capacity on the horizon, few new flights can begin at the
airport with limited runway capacity. A similar problem afflicts Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore.
Of course, if you read between the lines, the dramatic growth of air travel is a great indicator of how well the Indian economy is doing, despite warnings by the naysayers. But it is also indicative of the fact that India needs to keep putting down concrete for new runways and terminals. India’s growth story in the first decade of the 2000’s was in part due to the massive investment in highways made by the Vajpayee Government.
While the roads are being built at a frantic pace by Nitin Gadkari and his people, a lot remains to be done on the railways and aviation front beyond just announcing a new rail project and the Navi Mumbai airport.
Also, India stands to benefit immensely if coordinated infrastructure planning is done. Very often, different agencies — be it Central, State or local — work at cross-purposes. India can set a new paradigm for infrastructure development by bringing all on board. Because there are no two ways about it, if India has to lift hundreds of millions out of poverty, it will not happen through the failed economic of handing out money and free food, but through economic development.
And to grow economically strong, one has to establish infrastructural framework for it. Just look at China, many Western economists laughed when that nation built thousands of miles of high-speed rail and tens of thousands of miles of expressway. That is why China is still growing at seven per cent today, and that is why US President Donald Trump wants to rejuvenate American infrastructure.
let the malcontents and naysayers keep on sniping, the Government should ignore them and keep building for a prosperous tomorrow.
(The writer is Managing Editor, The Pioneer)