Connecting the old
gold and the new workmanship.
Now that Mr NarendraModi is put strongly on the saddles of power he can start
his grand designs for the speedy and inclusive development of the whole
subcontinent.He himself is bestowed with an immense treasure of imaginations
where we can / and should /contribute our small suggestions .From my side I
have 2 humble suggestions.
For the fast improvement in the area of cultivable land and to increase the number
of crops per year,there is urgent need for irrigation facilities.This can be
done by making small checkdams in small rivers and promoting lift
irrigation/well irrigation.As a long term strategy the major rivers canbe
linked together ( a pet idea of the late VKRV Rao ).This will double the
agri.production in a few years.
The govt should start
a scheme Balaram
Anna Yojana ,( after the early puranic farmer,Balaram of Madhura.)aimed at
cultivation of all cultivable vacant lands in the public or private ownership.This
can be done by giving expert farming
advices to the owners or allowing farmers/cooperatives to lease out land with
some governmental assistance.By this we
will become self sufficient in food items and can even export a sizable
quantity of some agricultural produces.
In every state there should be 2 broad highways with
availability of around 150 metres of
free space where no construction of buildings should be permitted. This will
ease the widening of such roads in future years without the necessity for
demolition of structures. One highway in the E-W direction and the other in the
N-S direction. People from any part of a state can move to the other end within
a few hours.In many developed nations there are no buildings near the highways.
MAARUTI SETHU YOJANA( For people centered
projects )
Another badly required factor is the involvement of the masses
in the developmental process .By achieving this we can bring about a
sustainable change in the attitude of the people.They should feel that their
role in the nation building does not stop at the moment they click the choice button on the EVMs.But
for achieving this we want much more
transparency in the planning,decision making and implementation of the
projects.Much of these local works should be entrusted to the local bodies with
a commitment to involve the public nominees also.There has to be mandatory
social auditing for such projects.By constituting a voluntary body under the
name ‘MAARUTI SETHU YOJANA ‘,the voluntary involvement of all the citizens can
be assured in such small/regular work in a locality.( The name reminds us of the
collective efforts of the monkeys under the leadership of Hanuman to help Lord Sriram in the making of the
Sethu bridge to Lanka ) The govt only needs to take the initiative in
promoting /popularizing / such a scheme.This has 2 advantages!) It helps to
make available the human labour worth several thousand crores.All parts of the nation can mobilize the service of the locals in
devoting a few hours weekly/monthly for
voluntary work in the neighbourhood.Secondly it gives a sense of involvement to
the participating individuals/voluntary organizations.Many voluntary agencies
can be persuaded to participate in such projects.Gradually this coming together
of people for the common good of the society will result in the fading out of the communal/gender/regional/ imbalances and communication gap.When members of all
communities work together for the common good
it will remove the slight misgivings in their minds about others.True
secularism will prevail in India.
