Odisha has been facing a big unemployment problem. Especially unskilled and semi-skilled rural educated youths have been migrating in distress to different parts of the country and even outside in search of income and employment. Their vulnerable condition and inhuman exploitation is a matter of concern.
It is found that the existing employment opportunities being created in different upcoming locations of the State due to mining, industry, business and other economic activities have not been beneficial to the locals. The local MlAs very often are making complaints in the State Assembly that whether the industrial setups are giving jobs to the locals as per the conditions in the Memorandum of Understating (MOU) is hardly monitored properly. As a result, a negligible representation of local people in employment is noticed.
The mining, industrial belt, business hubs, and seaport areas of the State such as Angul, Kalinganagar, Jharsuguda, Sundargarh, Jaypur, Similigda, Paradip and Gopalpur have a growing presence of people outside the State for employment and business activities.
Take for the example of Kalinganagar in Jajpur district. It is the steel hub of Asia with a number of private sector steel industries. Here, there have been regular complaints by the locals relating to employment. The local inhabitants’ contention is that in spite of their sacrifice of land and cooperation with Government and industry in various ways, a large number of outsiders in the area have been employed in the steel companies while the local youths are migrating to Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Delhi and other places in search of employment. Even the State Government companies have not created any quality permanent infrastructure such as ITI or engineering college for skill development of the local youths. The land cost in the area has gone high along with water scarcity and there has been no support for self-employment or expansion of downstream industries. The State Government has provided thousand acres of land, water, electricity, mineral, coal, lime stone, iron ore, chrome from nearby mines, railway line, road and port facility to big companies like Tata but what has been the output in terms of local employment or social developmentIJ
The health and education system in these areas have not improved by becoming an industrial hub as the local people’s social condition and quality of life has not improved as thought of before the industry come into the area. The condition of the tribals and SCs of the area who are primarily depending on agriculture and casual labour for survival has not improved to the desired extent. The people in the adjacent villages face serious drinking water crisis and drought hitting agricultural activities, though there is plenty of surface and ground water in their locality. It is told by the locals that the State Government helps much to the industries rather than the poor and the farmers in ensuring land, water and electricity and whatever promises were given in the initial stage of setting of industries have been forgotten by the industries and the Government. The conditions in the MoUs between the Government of Odisha and industries for the wellbeing of the locals have never been implemented. Especially the employment and social development part of it should be revisited by the Government in the interest of the locals.
There has been growing discontent and resistance by local people demanding employment and other income earning opportunities. The local people are also facing all the burden of development in form of pollution of local air, water, forest and land. It has been impacting over their health, life and sustainable livelihood. They argue that as losers of homestead land and land based livelihood, forest and agriculture, water source, they should be adequately compensated with alternative employment.
It is being observed that the industrial, mining and business hubs coming up in different areas of the State have uprooted the locals, poor and marginalised sections and further pushed them to penury. It is mostly in the tribal areas of the State which are also mining and industrial areas where the tribal and other marginalised poor who are mostly dependent on land and forest based economy have been driven away from their homeland. The outsiders have taken over their land and are controlling their economy and social life. There has been huge distress migration and unemployment of these marginalised groups in the absence of viable local employment and productive activities. It has resulted in chronic unemployment, lack of food security leading to distress migration and extreme poverty. The economic distress has encouraged child labour, trafficking of women and distress trade of human labour. Their educational status, skill level and business exposure and overall social setting limit them to a highly competitive environment. The decrease in tribal population in these areas has brought new socio -legal issues such as scheduled status of the area and tribal participation in local Government and other socio-cultural and religious issues linking to the local economy, land status, employment and business. The districts such as Sundargarh and Koraput have faced such issues and witnessed protest movement by the tribals of the areas.
It is very often told by the State Industry Minister in the Assembly that the conditions put forth in the MoUs with private companies should be monitored by the respective district Collector and RDC while the Department of Industry and Employment should take up joint exercise of identifying the locals in employment and ensure that the minimum level has been maintained by the employers in the district. It is further argued that within the local the participation of marginalized sections should be ensured as per their percentage in the districts otherwise they will be left out without a fair representation because of their vulnerability.
Where ever the industry and business is coming up the local youths including the marginalized sections should be provided with adequate education and skill development by the Government to make them employable in the industry and business. But the companies are not following this in the absence of adequate monitoring by the concerned authorities.
There must be reservation in employment and self-employment for the local people, the affected people in the periphery, adjacent blocks within the district with provision of representation of women and marginalized sections, SCs and STs and minorities and backward classes. In a State like Odisha with large presence of SCs and STs and diversity in culture and language, we need social diversity in our workplaces to build an inclusive economy and society in order to accommodate our diverse social identities and arrest discrimination.
The State Government should bring legislation to implement these provisions as mandatory by the industry and business houses operating in the State. The expansion of industry and business should be used as an opportunity to rebuild the State economy by generating more employment and scope of income for people of all sections for an inclusive growth. The people who have been paying everything for the ongoing development should not be further marginalised. The State Government has to not only create scope of employment but also build equal opportunities for its people across region, gender and social groups to ensure diversity in workplace and social justice through inclusive employment policy. The employment policy should counter regional imbalance, social segregation and inequality in access to employment in order to bring equity in overall development of the State.
(Email-manasbbsr15@gmmail.com Mob-09437060797)