Meghalaya Human Development Report 2008
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MEGHALAYA HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2008 Government of Meghalaya, Shillong Published by Government of Meghalaya, Shillong. All rights reserved ©Planning Department, Government of Meghalaya, 2009. Photo credits : The following photographs are taken by Diamond Kharbithai : (a) Boy minding cattle in Chapter 5, (b) Man selling things in chapter 6, (c) Polluted stream in Chapter 9. The photograph of blood donation camp in Chapter 3 is taken by Mass Media Department, St. Anthony’s College. The photograph of women crossing a bridge in Chapter 12 is taken by Etawanda Saiborne Print production : Directorate of Printing and Stationery, Meghalaya, Shillong. MeghalayaMeghg alayya HumanHuman DevelopmentDevelopmp ent ReportRepop rt 20082008 RAJ BHAVAN SHILLONG 793001 MEGHALAYA INDIA R. S.S MOOSHAHARMOOSHAHARY February 09, 2009 GOVERNOR MESSAGE I congratulate the Directorate of Economics and Statistics of the Government of Meghalaya for bringing out the first Human Development Report of our state. The goal of governance in a welfare state is enhancement of human well-being which can be quantified by analizing the ground level indicators of development and that is what this report is about. The report portrays Meghalaya rather in a poor light in the area of human development among the states in India. What is worrisome is that over the years, in a rising growth graph in the country, the ranking of Meghalaya in the human development parameters is sliding down. It is time for the Government to reflect on this and initiate appropriate measures to achieve higher targets in development management. The report has suggested number of measures in the form of recommendations for ensuring quality governance and empowering the people towards attaining higher quality of life. It is only with the active participation of the people that the development projects can be implemented in full measure and results obtained. Government must strive to function in a transparent, accountable and responsive way to improve the delivery mechanism and to ensure success of its plans. I hope the report will be instrumental in policy prioritization and help ensure higher level of human development in the state. (RANJIT S. MOOSHAHARY) GOVERNOR OF MEGHALAYA MeghalayaMeghg alayya HumanHuman DevelopmentDevelopmp ent ReportRepop rt 20082008 GOVERNMENT OF MEGHALAYA Main Secretariat Building Shillong - 793001 (O) 0364 - 2224282 (R) 0364 - 2226599 fax- 0364 - 2227913 E-mail: [email protected] Dr. DONKUPAR ROY Chief Minister, Meghalaya MESSAGE I am happy to know that the Planning Department, Government of Meghalaya, has finalised the first Meghalaya Human Development Report. This is an important research-cum-policy document. Genuine economic development requires not only income growth, but also improvement in the quality of life of our people and participation of the poorest of the poor in the development process. The Report focuses on the current levels of achievement, the areas of concern and the possible ways of progress. Most of the chapters are contributed by academicians in which the independence of views and critical appreciation of issues are also reflected. The Report provides an assessment of the status of human development in the different districts of Meghalaya and the State as a whole. This assessment will help us in identifying areas that require particular policy and action. I place on record my sincere gratitude to UNDP and Planning Commission, Government of India, for the initiative and support in preparing the Report. This work is the outcome of various contributors from academia and administration duly coordinated by Dr. (Mrs.) Veronica Pala and edited by Dr. Shreeranjan, IAS. The logistic support provided by the Directorate of Economics and Statistics has helped bring out this report. I am sure this work will go a long way in our sincerest appraisal of development in the State, in formulation and implementation of developmental Plans and Programmes. (Dr. Donkupar Roy) MeghalayaMeghg alayya HumanHuman DevelopmentDevelopmp ent ReportRepop rt 20082008 Rilang Building Meghalaya Secretariat Shillong - 793001 Phone No. 2224802 (Off.) PABX - 2203 Mobile - 9436311199 Shrih i P. P A. A SANGMA, SANGMA MLA Former Lok Sabha Speaker, Former Union Cabinet Minister, Former Chief Minister, Chairman, State Planning Board, Meghalaya MESSAGE Human development should be the ultimate goal of all development activities. While the theme of the Eleventh Five Year Plan of the Government of India is ‘inclusive growth’, it is all the more relevant for Meghalaya since the Report shows that achievements in the sphere of human development have been very uneven. Core areas of concern which need immediate attention are – building institutions of the people, enhancing the capacity of such institutions to make them relevant in a participatory mode of development and introducing a sustainable paradigm of development for Meghalaya. Health, education, poverty eradication, development of infrastructure are other major areas that should be given top priority and utmost importance for promoting human development in Meghalaya. I am sure the Report while providing realistic assessment of the current status of human development in Meghalaya, will serve as a guide for future planning in our endeavour for enhancement of human welfare. February, 27, 2009 MeghalayaMeghg alayya HumanHuman DevelopmentDevelopmp ent ReportRepop rt 20082008 RILANG BUILDING Shillong - 793001 Dated Shillong, the 20th February, 2009 Ranjan Chatterjee, IAS Chief Secretary to the Government of Meghalaya Message Human development is fi rst and foremost about allowing people to lead the kind of life they choose, and providing them with the tools and opportunities to make those choices. Th is is as much a question of politics as of economics. Unless people who are poor and marginalized can infl uence political actions at local and national levels, they are unlikely to get equitable access to jobs, schools, hospitals, justice, security and other basic services (Human Development Report, 2004). Th e fi rst Human Development Report of Meghalaya is about the status of those basic services in Meghalaya. It focuses on the achievements and areas of concern in the spheres of health, education, economic conditions, infrastructure, gender justice and environmental issues. Further, the Report emphasizes that participation and development are both intrinsically related. If development is the ultimate objective of societies, then participation of people is the ultimate means to realize it. Another component of development is governance. Th e criticality of quality governance in achieving human development is one of the most important factors infl uencing nature, direction and process of transformation of society. In the struggle for enhancement of human welfare, the challenges ahead are many. Th e Report off ers many areas of action and suggestions to achieve the objective of human development. It is my belief that this endeavour will provide the requisite impetus for a more focused strategy towards that end. MeghalayaMeghg alayya HumanHuman DevelopmentDevelopmp ent ReportRepop rt 20082008 FOREWORD ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– evelopment is often taken to mean rising incomes. A still common view equates development with growth in average income, though there has been a recent shift of emphasis which focuses on the distribution of incomes and the reduction of poverty. More recently, the approaches on developments are looking more at the quality of life. Since the publication of the fi rst Human Development Report (HDR) in 1990 by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), it has largely been accepted that development should be read in terms of human development. Underdevelopment is viewed more as the lack of capabilities rather than the lack of income. Thus, human development now denotes an enhancement of the people’s choices and human freedoms. That human development is the basic purpose of economic development has been emphasized in all the HDRs brought out by the UNDP annually since 1990. Since then a number of countries have brought forth their own national HDRs and many states or regions have also prepared and published sub-national HDRs. Under the initiative of the UNDP and the Planning Commission, the Government of India, has published the National Human Development Report 2001. In this backdrop, the Government of Meghalaya, in collaboration with the UNDP and the Planning Commission, Government of India, has prepared the fi rst Meghalaya State Human Development Report. The present Report attempts to assess the progress of the State in the sphere of human or social development and to critically examine certain key components of this area. It highlights the achievements to date and describes what needs to be done to consolidate the gains. In any attempt at assessing human development, the objective would be to get a comprehensive picture by looking into as many variables that affect human development, as possible. However, too many indicators could produce a perplexing picture. Further, public policy is about setting priorities. The crucial issue, therefore, is of emphasis. This being the fi rst HDR of the state of Meghalaya, it was considered appropriate to limit the range of issues to certain fundamental and basic themes related to human development. The four basic dimensions of human development that the HDR will attempt to focus are : health and longevity; access and acquisition