Punjab’s own tale of three cities

Take Chandigarh. The number of cellphones in Le Corbusier’s wonderland is estimated to be between 1.8 lakh and 2 lakh. Landline connections are around 1.5 lakh. Taken together these stats are significant considering Chandigarh just about makes it to a million-plus city. And it’s easy to see why the city ranks number one in road transport. With the entire city being planned, all villages and colonies within Chandigarh district are connected by roads. And given Punjab and Haryana’s robust agricultural growth, the hinterland is in any case well connected.

Ludhiana, known as the Manchester of Punjab, has always been an industrial centre. This city that was till the 2001 census, Punjab’s only million-plus city, has always been a magnet for rural-urban migration and boasts of an able workforce. As for infrastructure, it has two lakh landline phones and 2.2 lakh cellphones. Ludhiana’s zen for business is highlighted by the fact that it has 6.84 lakh registered vehicles (the highest in the state and more than the capital city of Chandigarh as well) and 430 banking offices (lower only to Amritsar’s 438).

Amritsar — strategically located between the Ravi and Beas rivers — had for long been a centre of trade for Punjab, especially in pre-Partition India, with tea, dry fruits and condiments being the prime commodities on the move. During the militant ’80s, however, business saw a marked decline. Regarding connectivity, Amritsar has the only international airport in Punjab, Raja Sansi airport. The Grand Trunk Road passes through Amritsar and it has rail connectivity with Delhi, Calcutta, Mumbai and Varanasi. BSNL in Amritsar has 1.62 lakh connections, and the number of cellphone connections sold is estimated to be around one lakh.

Admittedly, Debroy’s criteria for judging cities can be contested. For instance, in sharp contrast to surveys, say, by Fortune, it stresses on tangibles. So, if Fortune lays great store by the calibre of the local workforce, CII’s study evaluates the city’s access to professional education — easy to compare but in times of great movement surely centres of educational excellence do not only feed their environs. Also, most surveys take into account quality of life and the costs of doing business — two areas completely ignored by CII.

M R Agarwal, professor of international economics at Panjab University, highlights Punjab’s dilemma over its workforce: ‘‘The local workforce is good compared to the national standards, and that is why Punjabis do well both outside Punjab as well as India. Unfortunately, those who are highly-skilled venture out of the state due to lack of industry or a good service sector.’’

The type of industries too varies. Notes Captain Kanwaljit Singh, a former finance minister of Punjab: ‘‘Industry in Punjab is basically small scale, and the character of industry has not changed. Even medium scale industry does not have enough presence in Punjab.’’ But he does agree that Punjab’s agricultural base gives it immense advantage. Indeed, it ensured a relatively healthy bottomline despite all the disruptions during the militant ’80s and ’90s. ‘‘The interesting aspect about militancy in Punjab.’’ says Singh, ‘‘was that the economy was not badly affected. Industrial production remained stable even during those critical years because 50 per cent of the GDP in Punjab comes from agriculture. And the industry-agriculture relation is very close knit.’’

Bhupinder Singh Mann, president of the Bharatiya Kisan Union, however, advocates more fiscal and trade reforms. Given the deep connections between agricultural and industrial growth in the state, rationalisation is key. As an example, he says: ‘‘I can grow paddy in my fields, but am not allowed to mill the paddy to produce rice. Why? Because the milling licence is with somebody else. He makes a killing and the farm sector cannot earn enough to make a reinvestment. Similar is the case with the sugarcane grower.’’

That, then, is the verdict from the state. Punjab seeks even healthier economic growth — faster and smoother.