Kerala must get back to the basics of sustainable development

But the state is now in troubled waters following incessant rains and flooding that destroyed homes and livelihoods.

By Sherif Aziz

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Published: Tue 25 Sep 2018, 8:00 PM

Last updated: Tue 25 Sep 2018, 10:48 PM

Kerala, a state in southern India, has had a unique model of growth and development. For years, social development here outpaced the rate of economic growth of the state. In fact, if we use the Human Development Index parameters, Kerala scores over other states in the country. It has a score of greater than 0.7 (in a scale of 0-1), which is comparable to some developed nations. In the early nineties, Kerala achieved nearly 100 per cent literacy, the first Indian state i to do so. It has also been a 'lab' for coalition governments and perhaps for democracy itself in a 'unmutated' form.
But the state is now in troubled waters following incessant rains and flooding that destroyed homes and livelihoods. More than 400 people lost their lives. The death toll could have been even more had the fishermen, over 4,500 of them, not been around to carry out rescue operations.
But as the waters recede and hopes to rebuild the state rise, the quagmire of politics, policies and procedures threaten to slow down the recovery process.
To begin with, the floods were not entirely a man-made disaster. Perhaps it was possible to slowly release the water from the dams, even before the monsoon had started, to create capacity for the fresh rain water, and thereby prevent a large gush in a short span of time. The problem is authorities responsible for water management acted only when they were forced to. Generally speaking, the administrative system in the country has weakened the management of technology in every sector - in power, water, agriculture, health or transportation.
Therefore, from a rebuilding point of view, the first lesson is to nurture a cadre of high calibre professionals and scientists in institutions to manage infrastructure facilities. These professionals should competitively progress to head these institutions rather than being subordinated by generalists from the public administration.
With satellite imagery and other data available, we could simulate the impact of possible disasters at varying degrees of causative factors. Perhaps, the disaster risk analysis system developed for Bosnia and Herzegovina could be a model that we can look at.
However, the problem on hand is not merely an environmental issue. Kerala needs a holistic and comprehensive economic development  and spatial plan. A hurried discussion that aims for a "paradigm shift" is difficult in our kind of argumentative environment. Identifying a few cornerstone projects as part of a larger vision should be implemented in phases. Connecting them like dots against a timeframe would eventually yield a better outcome.
By now, Kerala should have had the expertise to manage all its water bodies, for both mobility and economic development, akin to the Dutch system. Ironically, most parts of Kerala had inland waterways providing the backbone for trade and commerce. However, the generic national level infrastructure development models insidiously killed these regional characteristics. It has remained a surprise why the state, with its strategic location on an international sea route could not focus on entrepôt trading to modernise its economy.
The government should take a step back and think about economic activities that it wants to foster and the kind of habitat and housing it wants to promote. Spatial planning and regulations must be introduced.
A purely knowledge-based economy is the way to go and the state should try to become a world-class hub in education, healthcare, tourism, ICT and other knowledge-based businesses. However, none of the above would be possible without an overall enabling environment and comprehensive support systems. A multi-mode integrated (water-land-rail-air) mobility network could be a fundamental step for a modern state. The educational system must be upgraded and made world-class, both in academics and social infrastructure.
A 'promotion and regulatory framework' for a reliable, efficient and robust healthcare industry (public and private) to meet the global tertiary healthcare needs is also vital. Vector control, clean drinking water programmes and efficient waste management should be top priorities.
Finally, public-private-partnerships, along with innovative investment crowd funding, should be the 'mantra' for resource mobilisation.
- The author is a development strategist  


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