Almost everyone I know from Andhra and even outside is busy buying land, and as much as possible of it. A lottery is awaiting the announcement of the new capital of Andhra, and everyone understands that land prices will rise sharply wherever it is going to be situated. Real estate sharks, financiers, and almost anyone who has money to spare are investing in land. CM Chandrababu Naidu’s fascination for Singapore is further escalating wild speculations. Black money in thousands of crores is flowing into the region and organised crime syndicates and builders’ lobbies are all busy. Naidu may remember that developing Hyderabad did not translate into political dividends. If he now hopes a more glitzy and sleek city will win him votes, he may be making the same mistake again.
Perhaps it is time for him and other leaders to think outside the box, and in ways that are inclusive and appropriate for the country. Instead of building a new capital of brick and mortar, he could consider a virtual capital that uses modern technology to serve all the functions of the seat of government without rooting it to the ground. The secretariat and offices of various ministries do not need to be in one place. The perception that officials need to meet regularly and work together is exaggerated and in any case better achieved by online meetings and exchanges. E-mail, Skype and video conferencing will achieve such discussions cheaply and conveniently. Moreover, if the ministries are distributed across the state, one perhaps in every district, if public institutions are similarly spread around and every taluka gets a component of the government, the impact will be comprehensive.
Indeed, ministries need to be established at places where their services are needed the most. The home ministry should be in the most crime-affected or Naxal-disturbed district. The transport minister must be sent to regions lacking roads and connectivity. The industry ministry, of course, should function in the most backward region while human resources officials should work in places lacking schools and educational facilities. It does not matter where these offices and ministers occupy space so long as they are accessible through modern technology and broadband communication systems.
Spreading the government offices across the state will bring additional benefits too. All regions will see growth, of schools, hospitals, shopping malls, residential areas, businesses and other infrastructural projects to serve the senior bureaucrats and hundreds of government servants having to establish themselves in smaller districts. Rather than one glittering Singapore, there will be hundreds of mini-Singapores dotted across the state. By spreading the government and public officials, the networks of middlemen, dalals and influence peddlers will also be nullified. Furthermore, the government would be saving money by selling off the assets in Hyderabad. The police headquarters in central Hyderabad, if sold today, can fetch enough money to build a glittering and sprawling new office in a hitherto neglected region that can also provide for full residential facilities for all serving in that office.
The CM himself can set the trend by relocating himself to the most backward village of the new state. At one stroke, the village will see massive development which will benefit surrounding regions as well. The CM can still administer the state, keep in contact with every minister, MLA and official from any remote corner. He and his ministers could literally attend village panchayats, make a difference in the lives of the thousands neglected by the distant state so far.
Threats about privacy of communications and intrusion into intra-governmental communications are real but largely exaggerated. More often, bureaucrats to hide their secrets and shortcomings use these as a ploy. Second, this will be the opportunity for Indian IT firms to design strong systems that cannot be easily infiltrated. The idea of virtual capital itself will promote and spur extraordinary growth in the IT industry. A virtually connected state will see dozens of digits of growth in IT and related industry and one that by itself will make Andhra the IT capital of the world. It will also usher a new model of development where the government is really of and for the people. When senior bureaucrats and ministers begin living amongst the people and sending their children and family to the same schools and hospitals, acche din for a large proportion of the citizens are bound to follow. Elitism and the culture of privilege, hallmarks of the Indian system, will be seriously dented and Chandrababu Naidu will make possible the dreams of Mahatma Gandhi—India becoming a republic of villages, albeit a modern, technologically savvy rural one.
(Arvind Verma is former director, India Study Centre, Indiana University, Bloomington, USA)
