I am a little hesitant to write on development possibilities in Bihar,for development is not a mantra,not like imbibing some magical elixir and waiting to get results. Having said that,it is also beyond doubt that great changes are coming to the heartland. Those changes,reflecting as they do the opportunities created by the fast growth of the nation as a whole,are of great consequence to the future of India. Genuine development will not take place until the benefits of Indias growth spread across the countrys heart and,in any case,these opportunities arise on account of India on the go. Because I believe that the heartland is changing,I am very clear in my mind that the privatisation of electricity distribution in Agra was a turning point in electricity reform in the country,based as it is on the Delhi model. And the fact that development has seriously been placed on the political agenda in Bihar is also,in and of itself,important although not without follow-up a sufficient condition of getting dramatic outcomes.The past seems to weigh heavily on growthmanship in the heartland. Law and order,and its consequence,respect for the rule of law,is a precondition for growth; it is that which has been established in Bihar. Also it seems to have become clear that law and order is,in fact,a relatively simple thing to deliver if the political will is there. The Indian state still has the tradition and the strength to do it,when the political back-up exists. This has larger implications even though some seem to only dimly understand that. Those activists who would irresponsibly undermine the basic functioning of the institutions of governance in a democratic society need to understand that. It is however interesting that in a meeting on poverty,arranged with the sponsorship of UNDP and of professional groups,when pressed on the question of choosing a frontier where a line would be drawn on poverty in Bihar,the answer was clear: this was a political issue,and no such lines can be drawn based merely on so-called statistics.Development,particularly of a widespread kind in agriculture,rural growth and economic infrastructure,needs such lines to be drawn and adhered to on the basis of facts. A give-away society cannot lay down the rules for effective growth,because growth needs such choices to be made. The Agra electricity distribution reform was important for this reason. If canals have to work in north Bihar,electricity has to be delivered for pump sets to work more effectively and some hard decisions will be necessary. The benefits of some growth have already been seen in terms of,say,the growth of maize production as feed for Indias insatiable poultry industry; or the fast growth of milk cooperatives. But the soil and water endowment of Bihar,including and especially its north are the possible source of virtually a revolution as the prime ministers economic adviser,Vijay S. Vyas,has shown in his report submitted last year to Nitishs previous government. But whether for seeds,where the Pusa Institute is researching in Bihar and not next to Delhi,or in the modernisation of irrigation,the possibilities are enormous. And the first lesson will have to be there are no free lunches in delivery systems.The same story is true of electricity,where the consumption per capita is almost the lowest in India. So are plant load factors,in the already meagre facilities for generation. Meanwhile,the losses in distribution are also close to the highest in the entire country. The lessons here are also obvious. In fact Bihar has the dubious distinction of having more than three thousand villages which have been de-electrified! That is because the lowest level transformers and so on at the 11-kilovolt lines have been stolen. Restoring these is easy. Safeguarding them and then making the system work is a challenge. It is not that more resources are not needed. The scope for investment in agricultural infrastructure or power distribution and generation is indeed very high. For that matter,it is in roads as well; whatever the recent progress,their density in north Bihar continues to be,again,the lowest among large states.A beginning will have to be made in all these. And,in each one,crucial to that beginning will have to be the establishment of bottomlines and credible institutions. Using this mandate to create those reliable economic institutions is Nitish Kumars next task.
The writer,a former Union minister,is chairman,Institute of Rural Management,Anand express@expressindia.com
