Infrastructure and Local Peculiarities
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: November 09 2015 -
Assam, despite its numerous problems, has been adjudged the Best Infrastructure Development State in the big state category in the 13th States Conclave by India Today
Group in New Delhi on November 6. Tarun Gogoi, the Chief Minister of Assam received the award from Union Minister for Home Affairs Rajnath Singh during the conclave.
Reports said that Assam bagged the best State in Infrastructure Development because it has registered 17 per cent increase in the length of pucca road from 2011 to 2013-14,
whereas the National average for the same period was four per cent.
For Assam, it is a significant achievement because the State had also bagged the 3rd position in 2013 and 7th in 2014 in the same category. There was more good news for Assam this time too despite being ruled by the Congress. It has been reported that 70 per cent households of Assam had power connection during 2013-14.
What one should note is the way how Assam and other States had been assessed by the India Today Group. It is said that the awards were after tracking the performance of the Indian States analyzing which States made the most of liberalization.
This basically means that the States that were observed have progressed as the idea and the process of liberalization kept expanding. However, one is not sure of the quantum of welfare oriented development that could be brought about by achieving such feats.
In India, the idea of developing massive infrastructure in the States has always been tied to the quantum of funds released by the Union Government. This basically calls for
truthfully addressing the “love-hate” relationship between the Union and the States.
It is in this context, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi had spoken against the contention that Indian federalism is now more tilted towards the States during a panel discussion following the award distribution function.
Pointing out how the Centre had always taken key decisions without taking the confidence of the Assam, Gogoi cited the example of the recent Indo-Bangla Land Boundary Agreement in which Assam Government’s views were completely ignored.
What Gogoi had said echoes the views of many more States in the Northeast region of India which feels that waiving off the Special Category Status accorded to the region earlier in no way supported the claim of cooperative federalism.
Moreover, it has also been a common understanding that owing to region specific peculiarities, India cannot replicate a common land policy for the entire country or for that matter, set a common agenda on infrastructure development.
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