The Hindu : Things are moving in the right direction: Buddhadeb

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 29, 2004

Opinion

Opinion - News Analysis

Things are moving in the right direction: Buddhadeb

By Malabika Bhattacharya

"I don't want to be compared with anyone. I have my own style. My priority is to take Bengal forward... "

The West Bengal Chief Minister, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, has succeeded in making a name for himself in the field of governance and politics in his short time in office. He has attracted attention by virtue of his initiative to industrialise West Bengal and tap its intrinsic strengths to put it on top in terms of quality of life, wealth creation and competitiveness. He recently spoke to The Hindu at length, offering an insight into his agenda, his compulsions and the issues that have a bearing on his working. Excerpts:

Question: To use a fashionable coinage, there are too many feel-good stories about West Bengal these days. Is it time to talk about `Bengal shining'?

Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee: (Laughs) Look, I cannot relate to words such as `feel-good,' `roadmap' and so on. They are creations of the media. All I know is people in Bengal have started realising that things are moving in the right direction.

Which are the areas where investments are coming in?

There are many, but I would like to restrict myself to mentioning iron and steel, plastics, chemicals, agriculture-related ones and, last but not the least, IT [Information Technology]. Also infrastructure, which has engaged the attention of the Japanese. They are interested in Kolkata and Haldia, the north-south corridor and widening of the National Highways, to name a few.

But what about the areas of concern, for example, health?

Things are happening in health too. We, as the Government, can no longer raise greenfield ventures in this sector because we do not have monies. But we are seeding the grounds for private capital. Our initiative has already started paying dividends — the Apollo Group is planning a second hospital in Kolkata. Debi Shetty, the renowned cardiologist, is keen on setting up a second hospital.

The Japanese have always been very supportive of Bengal. Now, one hears, you have offered them an island.

I have suggested to Mitsubishi to build a township with golf facilities in the beautiful Min Island on the Bay of Bengal. The Japanese have a strong presence in Bengal, which figures on top of their list of India investment priorities. Mitsubishi, Marubeni, Itochu are all here. Itochu is now keen on constructing the electrical-magnetic railways in Kolkata. With just six per cent land for surface transport, Kolkata badly needs fast-moving systems. The Japanese are also showing interest in the metro railways, in the stretch between Rajarhat in the eastern fringes and Ramrajatala in district Howrah.

When will all these actually happen?

All these projects are in different stages of completion. But sometimes projects get stuck because of the dilly-dallying of the Central Government, especially the Environment Ministry. Like the bridge across the Hooghly.

In another two years, we are going to say that Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, Chandrababu Naidu and S.M. Krishna (in that order) are the three most dynamic men carrying out crucial State-level/region-wise economic reforms in India. Your comment.

One section of the media says I am on the top of the list [of all-India doers]. Another section says I am not a topper and I am trailing Mulayam Singh Yadav [the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister] somewhere way down... To be honest, such lists have no bearing on my agenda, on what I have set out to do. Let me tell you I don't want to be compared with anyone. I have my own style. My priority is to take Bengal forward within the political and ideological framework that the Left Front has put in place over 26 years.

When do you think Bengal will be in same bracket with Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Karnataka?

Who decides about this bracket? The media? I am doing my best and I can humbly claim that we have done a wonderful job in rural Bengal for 26 years. So far as industry is concerned, we are in tough competition with these States but because of our locational advantages, availability of raw materials, electricity, skilled labour and human resources, we will take Bengal to the top.

Are you not scared of the large army of unemployed people that puts a lot of strain on Bengal's economy and political system?

There are hundreds of unemployed men and women. So, manufacturing is very important for us. Many iron and steel and cement companies are showing interest in investing here. La Farge [a cement company] will set up its unit in Mejhia in Bankura district. We are also trying to create jobs in agro-based industries, for which five export zones have been set up. Some big players, such as Pepsico and Hindustan Lever, have shown keen interest in this sector.

How do you strike a balance between the CITU's compulsions for a strong labour movement and your vision of an industrialised Bengal?

(Pauses) I am trying my best to convince CITU and its leaders to understand the new situation. Without quality production and productivity, we will not be able to survive. They will also have to share the responsibility along with the management. It cannot be the management's headache alone.

Is the CITU ready to give up its militancy?

I told them [the CITU]: look, we will always allow a democratic movement but nothing which gives Bengal a bad image and creates problems. For example, gheraos. In the Sixties, we resorted to gheraos and such forms of aggressive protest. But now we condemn all such forms of agitation. The word `gherao' may have found a place in the Oxford dictionary for us (laughs), but we cannot support this anymore.

When you make your views public, how does the CITU take it?

Mixed reactions. But I will have to try and bring it [around] to my line of thinking.

The industry and trade people always point out that they find it difficult to work with the highly unionised work force in Bengal. Your comment.

Look, I will not claim that everything is fine in Bengal; it is not. But neither is it in the rest of the world. Look at the situation in Italy, France and several other European countries. They, too, are experiencing normal life crippled by transport strikes and movements as a mark of protest against lay-offs, wage freeze, pension cuts and other anti-labour policies.

Sometimes the workers have to agitate but at the end of the day, we want a harmonious relationship between the management and the labour.

Bandhs and strikes — what is your attitude to all this now?

We have made our position clear about these issues. Before resorting to a strike or a bandh, it is better if one tries to solve the problem across the table.

How bad is the financial situation in Bengal? How far has your drive for austerity and newer avenues of revenue generation paid dividends?

We will be able to come out of the crisis very soon, maybe next month. But this fiscal problem is being faced by all States mainly for two reasons. One, the Centre is imposing as high as 12 per cent interest on any loans taken from it, and two, most of the taxes are collected by the Centre. We wanted at least a 50 per cent share as we are required to implement all development programmes. Currently, we get only 27 per cent of the taxes. We have placed our views before the 12th Finance Commission. Hope something positive will happen in the near future.

We have raised the High Court fees, for which the Opposition parties created a ruckus. Our collection from excise is still quite low but then the Opposition is making a big fuss over the opening of new liquor shops across the State. Our drive for austerity is paying off in a big way.

In the process, are we becoming a heavily taxed State?

No. Our conscious decision is to keep poor people outside the tax net. It is rather foolish to say that we have imposed taxes on domestic animals in the rural areas. The picture is just the opposite. We have authorised the panchayat bodies to decide on the issue of tax independent of the Government.

In 2004, how do you regard the issue of infiltration, terrorism and so on?

We have a problem with terrorist outfits in Coochbehar, Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling in north Bengal. The Bhutan Government did a wonderful job of flushing out ULFA and KLO militants from their territory. The KLO is now unable to regroup itself. We are trying to take it back into the mainstream by providing employment and so on. While People's War and MCC are creating problems in Bankura, Purulia and West Midnapore districts, they have no support base here and are operating from Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Jharkhand.

In this connection, I must tell you that our neighbour Bangladesh's role in containing terrorism is very disappointing. ULFA and KLO militants, who fled during the Army operation, have now taken shelter in Bangladesh. I have discussed this matter with the Centre.

Have the relations with Bangladesh worsened on this count?

Bangladesh is supposed to be our friendly neighbour but it is supporting the terrorists. Our problem arises from Nepal as well. There is a continual exodus from that country into our State. I told our Home Minister [L.K. Advani] to consider a review of the Indo-Nepal Treaty to enable Indians to settle in Nepal. Now it is only the Nepalese who are coming to our country.

Do you think the PW and the MCC may affect the coming elections?

I don't think so. We have certain pockets of problems such as Belpahari, Banshpahari, Ranibandh and Bandowan [mostly in West Midnapore and Purulia].

How far have you been able to make the bureaucracy, employees and your own Cabinet colleagues responsive to the need of the moment? There is a strong feeling that the Government is still slow.

I am trying to sensitise the administration as well as my colleagues but I must confess I am not happy with the state of affairs.

We will have to work hard, perform better and try to fulfil the people's expectations. After all, the people have voted us to office for six consecutive terms.

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