:: Govind Talwalkar

The great economic north-south divide

By Govind Talwalkar

Aug 04 : A tale of two states — Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu — reveals a marked north-south divide in India. The recent report by Bengaluru-based Public Affairs Centre (PAC), an organisation dedicated to improving the quality of governance in India, throws light on this divide. Backed by statistics, the report shows how Uttar Pradesh, which was ahead of Tamil Nadu in the 60s, now lags behind in the same sectors where Tamil Nadu has made significant progress. Per capita income disparity between Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu in 2005-2006 was 128 per cent. In the 60s, the gap was not that much.

Recently, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati blamed the Congress Party for the backwardness of her state. But we cannot hold only the Congress responsible. All those parties who ruled Uttar Pradesh should be held accountable. But even after admitting the backwardness of the state she rules, Ms Mayawati remains focused on installing her statues and wasting the state’s time and money.

According to the PAC report, in the first three decades after Independence, large number of people from the southern states migrated to Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi and other cities. But now it is not so.

Tamil Nadu has made great progress in agriculture as well as in the industrial sector, as a result of which migration has reduced considerably.

Earlier, the extent of poverty in Tamil Nadu was worse than it was in Uttar Pradesh, but the southern state succeeded in reducing the deprivation to a significant level. It was able to make these strides after late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi launched schemes for technological improvement, and followed that by opening up the economy under P.V. Narasimha Rao. Then the United Progressive Alliance government, under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, introduced various measures which have taken economic indicators to new heights. But Uttar Pradesh did not take advantage of the changed atmosphere as Tamil Nadu did.

According to the report, Tamil Nadu was helped by several factors, including political stability. After the Congress was ousted from power, Tamil Nadu was governed by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) or All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK).

Uttar Pradesh, on the other hand, experienced political instability and incompetent governance. Though the state has reasonably adequate water resources, all governments have failed to harness it to bring in a thriving economy. A drought-prone state like Gujarat has achieved agricultural and industrial growth, but not Uttar Pradesh.

Political stability may have worked for Tamil Nadu, but it is not the sole factor. West Bengal is politically much more stable than any other state in India, but it does not enjoy a pre-eminent position as the party in power is hamstrung by its outdated ideology. Punjab and Haryana cannot be termed politically stable, but they are not as backward as Uttar Pradesh and are way ahead of West Bengal.

Technically qualified manpower and power generation and consumption are two factors critical for growth. Tamil Nadu encouraged investment in these two sectors long before it logged any increase in per capita income.

Tamil Nadu gave preference to technical education unlike Uttar Pradesh. It had 540 engineering colleges in 2008. The state led the country in the reservation policy. So when the economy was opened up, Tamil Nadu had a reservoir of technically-equipped workforce. Successive governments also adopted investment-friendly policies. That’s was why during 2000-2006, Tamil Nadu attracted foreign investment proposals worth Rs 8,500 crores while Uttar Pradesh received Rs 15 crores.

All the chief ministers of Tamil Nadu were keen on spreading education. Various social movement leaders also opened schools and colleges. Under chief minister K. Kamraj, mid-day meals were introduced in primary schools and later this popular scheme was implemented on a wider scale throughout the state. This helped improve literacy levels.

It is true that the number of school buildings has increased in Uttar Pradesh, but classroom activity has not improved accordingly. In 1996, about half the time classes were not even conducted in schools. The situation was the same in 2006 — only half of the government-run schools conducted classes.

The PAC report quotes from a book by T.S.R. Subramanian who was chief secretary of the Uttar Pradesh government in 1991. He writes that while on an official tour in a hilly area, he went to a small village’s primary school. The school had five teachers on payroll but only one was present. After enquiry Mr Subramanian found that the five teachers would take turns and teach for 15 days each. No block level officer or school inspector had visited the village.

The political parties who came to power in Tamil Nadu spent a good deal of money on health. That is why the child mortality rate in Tamil Nadu is lower as compared to Uttar Pradesh.

It is not that only Tamil Nadu has surpassed Uttar Pradesh in several fields. All the southern states are ahead of the northern ones, not including Punjab and Haryana.

Urbanisation has positive impact on economic growth. Tamil Nadu was always ahead of Uttar Pradesh in urbanisation and this gained momentum since the 90s. This and industrialisation were helped by power generation. The installed capacity for electricity was much higher in Tamil Nadu than in Uttar Pradesh even in the 60s. Moreover, since the 80s, their capacity increased while that in Uttar Pradesh declined. Tamil Nadu also scores over Uttar Pradesh in telephones and communication infrastructure.

The number of small and medium businesses and industries has risen considerably in Tamil Nadu, and this has helped swell the number of people in the middle class, and this in turn has helped the growth of schools and colleges.

The per capita development expenditure is higher in Tamil Nadu. Till 1990, both the states were practically on the same level, but after 1990, expenditure in Tamil Nadu grew by leaps and bounds while in Uttar Pradesh it stagnated if not declined.

Who used their resources efficiently? Take the case of roads. The PAC report says that from 1980-85, Tamil Nadu spent Rs 22,389 for every additional kilometre of road, while Uttar Pradesh spent 10 times that amount.