Dandakaranva: a Survey of Rehabilitation III—Other Urban and Semi-Urban Employment S K Gupta
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THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY January 16, 1965 Dandakaranva: A Survey of Rehabilitation III—Other Urban and Semi-Urban Employment S K Gupta A few odds and ends should now be dealt with to tie up loose ends and bring the discussion to a close. Apart from industries the other possible means of earning a living in urban and semi-urban areas are private or co-operative trade, transport, contract work of all sorts, public service, and independent professional or consulting work. Of these, the last may be ruled out at once for displaced persons moved to Dandakaranya lacked the neces sary qualifications to set up as lawyers, doctors or consulting engineers. What scope did the displaced persons have in the rest and what opportunities were created? RIVATE trade or business is not from the Ministry even when a refe have been expected, particularly when P an expanding source of employ rence was made. materials had to be obtained from a ment in backward areas where peo How many people have been given distance and local markets were not ple's purchasing power is small. Dis such business loans and how many fully exploited. Even the hospitals of placed persons seeking employment have made good? I have no exact in the DDA did not patronise its pro under old established business houses formation about the first but a press ducts in the way they should have in the four or five urban centres with note of the Ministry published in a done. Whether with a more attractive in Dandakaranya were likely to get vernacular daily of Calcutta on De wrapping and active canvassing sales snort shrint because the latter would cember 15, 1964 gives the number on would improve is more than one can prefer their own km who knew the September 30, 1964 to be 170 which guess, but the society seems to be locality and spoke the local language. presumably includes the 100 families nobody's baby and hardly receives In any case no attempt was made to who had formed themselves into a co more than spasmodic attention from give displaced boys a training in sales operative society to run a transport the Special Officer (Co-operatives) of manship and induce private business service under the name of Navjiban the DDA. men to take them in as apprentices, Transport Co-operation Society. It Transport Tnose who wanted to set up as inde also perhaps includes another ten per pendent traders or shopkeepers faced The only transport service run ex sons who had formed a co-operative clusively for the employment of dis an uphill task. They were offered a soap-manufacturing society at Bore business loan of Rs 1000 and a house placed persons is that of the Nava- gaon, Of the rest only about 10 or 15 jiban Co-operative Transport Society. building loan of Rs 2000 and a maxi persons are maintaining themselves mum of three months' dole apparently It started promisingly and did well in fairly well by running canteens, or the initial stages but it began to face under the belief that within that period grocery and carpentry shops in places they would be able to earn enough heavy weather as soon as the foster like Koraput, Ambaguda, Jagdalpur, ing care of Sukumar Sen and j K Roy from their meagre capital investment Umarkot, Paralkot and Boregaon. One to maintain their family and repay was withdrawn by death or transfer. even did a thriving grocery business Its 100 members contributed as their the loan. Since, as will be shown later, in the isolated village of Dabugaon no homestead plot had yet been allot share the maximum loan they were whose one big weekly hat compen entitled to and raised a capital of ted, the income would also have to sated for all the remaining lean days be large enough to pay the rent of Rupees one lakh, The Rehabilitation of the week. But such cases are rare. Industries Corporation advanced Rs 5 the shop room that would have to It should also be said that shops and be hired. Even if a homestead plot lakhs as loan and a fleet of trucks canteens which depend largely on were purchased for running a carrying had been available, it would presum DDA staff for sale of their goods ably have been away from the hub of service in which thirty or thirty-three have a somewhat uncertain future of the subscribing members found the urban area and therefore unsuit because their market will shrink able as a shopping site. employment as clerks, accountants, as soon as the DDA is wound drivers, cleaners or mechanics. For a Unrealistic Scheme up or work shifted from one zone to time the earnings and emoluments The scheme was, therefore, not very another. Offices and officers are much were reasonably good and part of the realistic and the rigidity with which more mobile than shop-keepers and loan was paid off. The root of the it was applied made its harshness all the shifting of the main Transport trouble which started after the death too plain. One glaring example was garage from Boregaon to Ambaguda of Sukumar Sen lay m the fact that in the case of 23 non-camp displaced spelt disaster to a number of people order to ensure security for the loan families sent from West Bengal to who previously lived by catering to it had advanced, the RIC had reserved wards the latter part of 1963 who were their needs. It is only the growth of the right to appoint the members of not offered any homestead plot and a sizable local population with enough the Managing Committee, and after the did not on that account take the busi purchasing power which can assure a transfer of J K Roy, had appointed ness loan because there was no place stable custom to grocers and hoteliers. as Chairman, the DDA's Conservator where they could ply their trade, but The co-operative soap factory men of Forests between whom and the whose dole was stopped after three tioned earlier is in the doldrums. If it Society's Secretary (who was also an months reducing them literally to has not already closed its doors it officer of the DDA) there soon deve starvation till private charity and will have to do it soon. With poor loped irreconcilable differences. The occasional casual work came to their technical skill and crude methods of latter blamed the Chairman for favour rescue. Their case evoked no response manufacture nothing better should ing private carrying contractors in pre- 89 January 16, 1965 THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY 90. THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY January 16, 1965 ference to the N C T S which, as a societies of displaced persons and have knocked the bottom out of the DDA sponsored society designed to tribals. They were expected to collect group leader system and deprived it help refugee rehabilitation, deserved a group of displaced persons for both of whatever justification there was of special consideration. The complaint skilled and unskilled work and not dispensing with the time-honoured was that the more hazardous jobs employ outsiders except when no practice of calling for competitive under difficult road conditions which displaced person was available for tenders. the Conservator of Forests gave to the that type of work. As a quid pro quo But the expectation that the group NCTS led to frequent breakdowns for guaranteeing employment of dis leader system would lead to large and damages to parts, with consequent placed persons the group leaders were employment of displaced labour has increase in the cost of repair, the given liberal concessions. Works upto been belied. Whatever may have hap number of idle hours, and considerable Rs 50,000 (if distributed by the Chief pened in the beginning almost the loss of income. The Secretary, too, or Superintending Engineer) or Rs entire labour force now employed by acted arbitrarily and in defiance of 25,000 (if distributed by an Executive group leaders and other contractors the decision of the majority of mem Engineer) could be allotted to them consists of tribal men and women. bers. He had to be pulled up and has, without calling for tenders, and in Where the work site is far removed I think, left the DDA for good. These the case of co-operative societies the from a settler village or transit centre internicine squabbles among two offi limit could be doubled. The earnest this is understandable but where it is cers of the DDA who were foisted money was minimal and the security not the failure to enforce a condition upon the NCTS to occupy two key deposit which was not required in which was the raison d'etre of the group positions in the Managing Committee advance could be built up out of leader system will take some explana did much damage to a society which small deductions from bills which tion. Responsible officers have told me had started so well and whose poten were expected to be paid at scheduled that; the reason why contractors (in tialities for good are by no means rates and at frequent intervals during cluding group leaders) prefer tribal exhausted, provided the RIC replaces the progress of the work. Even advance labour to displaced persons is not that these two office-bearers by others payments in between two bills could the latter are unwilling to work or likely to give a better account of be made for unmeasured work at the put in hard labour but that they will themselves.