Hard Times, Part II

the Left Front (LF) is back at Writers' Building once again, belying all predictions and hopes to the contrary. But that means nothing perhaps. For, the end of ideology in this so-called red bastion is probably nigh. Optimism and fears, that the Buddhadev Bhattacharyya-led LF government would embrace reforms like the current nda government at the Centre and the Congress earlier, are being voiced. But whatever direction it takes, it's sufficiently clear that for the newly reinstalled LF, economic development is the new catchword. And chief minister Bhattacharyya its torchbearer.

The mood, last fortnight, was sombre as members of the sixth LF ministry trooped out of cpi(m)'s West Bengal headquarters at Alimuddin Street after their meeting. LF leaders had driven home their message hard: Bhattacharyya and his team had a mountain to climb and they better begin soon.

As Bhattacharyya began a fresh five-year term, the debit side of the ledger stood out as clearly as the Octerlony monument against the Calcutta skyline. West Bengal, after Maharashtra, is the second-most heavily indebted state, with a very poor record for resource mobilisation. Its registered unemployed number over five million, its per capita income has steadily declined to put it among the middle-income-group states. Despite a slight recovery, the industrial stagnation continues, as does the brain drain.

Now even land reforms, which changed the face of rural Bengal and gave the cpi(m) and the LF their strongest political bulwark, have fizzled out. Liberalisation and economic reforms have helped but then they have also sounded the death-knell for many public sector units in Bengal. "There is very little we can do to revitalise the urban economy in the short or medium term," admits a cpi(m) state committee member.

A Forward Bloc spokesman outlines Bhattacharyya's dilemma succinctly: "He would like to speed up the pace of work, but is caught in a squeeze between the pressures of the new economic policy, which constricts the national economy, and the heavy backlog of non-performance over the past two decades. And he has to carry the burden of rising expectations from the people."

Despite the welcoming noises made by the new CM, industry's response has been ambivalent. There has been much chamber rhetoric lauding Bhattacharyya and his team, with some investors visiting Alimuddin Street, even as four jute mills stopped production. In this backdrop, Bhattacharyya's new slogan, "Do it now", for government employees has naturally evoked the inevitable response: "Do what exactly?" It is common knowledge that after paying salaries and allowances to over 7,50,000 state government employees, little is left for development work. Hardly the ideal recipe for a new Promethean initiative.

To their credit, LF leaders have charted out a sensible course of action possible against this somewhat daunting backdrop. cpi(m) leaders say Bhattacharyya's priorities are clear. He will rely on his party's familiar strength—giving priority to rural economic development—instead of trying to experiment with too many new ideas.

What are Bhattacharyya's new areas of emphasis? Getting government employees to work, a herculean task anywhere in the country, particularly in highly unionised Bengal. A clear message has been sent to government employees, not to mention the Left parties themselves, that for the administration there are no holy cows. Nirupam Sen, the gentle ideologue who switches from suavity to brutal candour with aplomb, has warned government school teachers, a number of them LF supporters, thus: "You've achieved much through your agitations for better living conditions, which we supported.However, some of you don't work as you should. If this continues, we've to crack the whip, even if you don't support us—the state comes first."

Ditto for industry as well. Industrialist Jagmohan Dalmiya, whose equation with Jyoti Basu is excellent, is not pleased. He has been told by the state government that his company, which took possession of a large plot of land for developing a leather complex, will have to deliver or else Bhattacharyya, unlike his predecessor, won't allow so-called entrepreneurs who take over land at dirt-cheap prices and then do nothing, to flourish.

Says an industry department official: "Some entrepreneurs who have taken plots at Salt Lake too have been warned to get their act in place or return the plots." And last week, Bhattacharyya ordered the immediate demolition of illegal fish farms that have come up along the Ichamati river in North 24 Parganas—they accentuated last year's floods. It is common knowledge that local cpi(m) leaders control these farms.

This also signals the revival of the old cpi(m) line—political leadership exercises near control over the executive. Some, however, see in this a clipping of Bhattacharyya's wings. Points out the cpi(m)'s politburo member Biman Bose: "Earlier we learnt of important decisions or schemes in the districts from the press, whereas the idea was that such matters should've been discussed within the political leadership first."

Agrees cpi leader Manju Majumdar: "The process should have been reversed long ago." Naturally, while Basu was the CM, he towered over administration, party and front. In the process though, the administration didn't exactly cover itself with glory because a caucus of bureaucrats, ministers and traders monopolised official largesse. The administrative authority bypassed the political process. The LF is now determined not to let such a situation recur, admits a leader.

Bhattacharyya, by temperament, is averse to the growth of a Saturn-ring of hangers-on. Now, all development projects would be discussed and approved at the LF level, and implemented/modified at the district level, where local LF bodies will play a major role. According to Bhattacharyya's schedule, cpi(m) ministers (33 out of 48) will submit progress reports to Nirupam Sen, who now holds the planning and development portfolio, while other ministers will report directly to chief minister Bhattacharyya.

Implicit in this is the third major element of the new LF approach: the strengthening of the panchayat bodies and mass organisations. Says a cpi(m) state committee member: "Local development work, like road building, river/pond dredging and introducing cash crops in some areas, will now be handled by panchayat and local organisations to ensure decentralisation. Allocated funds can thus be spent more effectively, instead of waiting indefinitely for secretariat sanction."

As observer Charubrata Ray points out: "By ensuring close intermeshing between the political leadership and the administration, the LF is not only revitalising itself but shutting out operating space for opposition like the Trinamul at the ground level."

In other words, it's a warning to the Opposition. If the idea works, then the four pillars that sustain the LF—administration, political leadership, mass organisations and cadre—will be strengthened.

Much will hinge on what sort of work it undertakes in rural and urban areas. And going by initial indications, Bhattacharyya may have no major problems with multinationals either.The state government proposes to clear more IT projects, encourage more downstream units for the Haldia petrochemical project and the Mitsubishi project, in addition to major power projects with Japanese assistance.

For the rural economy, secondary reforms, considered politically crucial following on earlier land reforms, are being considered. Some of the proposed schemes are: double/triple cropping in monocrop areas, introduction of cash crops, establishment of low-cost-based industries, the building of markets and roads to help sale of rural agricultural produce and products, involvement of people in the adb-aided highway project, linking Haldia to Siliguri, and irrigation projects.

This may seem simplistic but then it's easier to improve conditions in the rural areas than elsewhere. Already, the state, according to Planning Commission estimates, boasts of the third-largest economic potential—after Maharashtra and Gujarat. And the new CM is quite ready to crack the whip. Says an official: "District authorities have been ordered by Bhattacharyya to complete all embankment/dam repair/strengthening work by June 7, before the monsoon. If by such timely action we can prevent even 30 to 40 per cent of the damage caused by floods, imagine the difference it will make to the people." Clearly, what the mighty Basu could not do due to his aristocratic bearing and personality, the commoner who has replaced him is certainly going to try.