Plough the Furrow

"Let everyone sweep in front of his own door, and the whole world will be clean." ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, former President of India, and still in some hearts, the 'people's president' has appreciated a watershed effort by a group of farmers in Hadapsar near Pune, to develop their own Special Economic Zone model, Magarpatta City.

The model which is claimed to be highly sustainable, is in stark contrast to the Central Government's SEZ policy. The policy states that the state government must buy land from farmers and the inhabitants of the particular area by paying them adequate compensation. The area proposed to be developed into a SEZ is then given to a developer who builds the necessary infrastructure. This policy is highly flawed as even fertile lands are being sold at a pittance and against the wish of the farmers to developers. Many of the SEZ projects are in fact realty development projects that envisage building high-range housing projects that will be out of the range of the common man. This policy has led to large scale protests and violence in many parts of the country and has led to a chain of rebellions from farmers and tribals that are the biggest losers in the project.
But the Hadapsar farming community has done something different. They developed their own model in which they retain their ownership of their lands. At the same time, they are equity partners in the economic benefits from the use of their land. This model has been hailed as a solution to the SEZ policy that has now become an albatross around the government's neck.
Instead of being displaced, the farming community becomes a share holder in the profits from the development of the SEZ.

The Magarpatta project is a gem in many respects. While only 1200 people were directly employed on the farms, the new township when complete, will employ 40,000 people in various vocations along with 4000 people in support services. They have planned the city on a 'walk to work' concept. The township plans to have a 700,000 litre solar water heating capacity in place, which is claimed to be one of the largest in India. This is what takes shape when people come together. The new business has meant that the farmers are upgrading their skills to usher in the big companies buying space in the cybercity.

But even this model does leave a few questions to be answered. What if the farmers themselves want to develop their fertile lands? If this happens on a rampant and unchecked scale, it could lead to a massive erosion of agricultural land in times when the food security is already stretched. What happens when disputes arise? In a situation of no government policy on the issue, cases could be lingering on for years in courts and the farmers could be trapped in their own design, left with no farm to cultivate and no income from the land as it is already a disputed property. But a government policy would bring in its own set of problems. And what about the landless labourers who toiled on the farms? A development plan would immediately render many jobless. There should be a careful study of all these factors before a community does go in for land development. It should not only be sustainable for the land owners but also those who were dependent on the farms. And sustainable for agriculture in the country. These issues will need to be looked at before we seek to have many more Magarpattas.
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A lot of information about Magrapatta as been taken from a feature, Magarpatta City: The Farmer's Cybercity released by the India Brand Equity Foundation, a public -private partnership between the Ministry of Commerce, Govt. of India and the Confederation of Indian Industries. Their aim is to build a positive economic perception about India, globally. I really like their projection of India as 'The World's fastest growing Free Market Democracy'! Take that, China!
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