Assam Human Development Report 2003 Government of Assam © Copyright 2003 Planning & Development Department, Government of Assam Dispur, Guwahati - 781006 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior permission of the Government of Assam Printed at Hindustan Offset Industrial Area, Bamunimaidum Guwahati. TARUN GOGOI DISPUR, CHIEF MINISTER GUWAHATI - 781006 Govt. of Assam Foreword It is my great privilege to introduce the first Human Development Report of Assam. Assam occupies a unique place in the map of India due to its strategic geographical location, natural beauty, rich bio-diversity and above all its very heterogeneous colourful population representing distinct culture. In spite of numerous problems faced by the State, it has registered considerable attainment in different facets of human development. Still it has to go far ahead. We cannot afford to remain satisfied with the present status of well being of the people of Assam. The State is presently facing tremendous fiscal crunch. We are to meet the challenges of furthering the quality of life of the people with the judicious use of limited resources we have. The State Human Development Report of Assam will present a profile of gaps in development process across districts. This report, I expect, will provide a fruitful agenda for the betterment of all segments of the population including the down trodden, the poorest of the poor. I do record my sincere gratitude to UNDP for its initiative taken in preparing the State Human Development Report of Assam. I am very grateful to Dr. (Mrs.) Rohini Nayyar, Adviser (RD), Planning Commission, Government of India for showing her keen interest for the work. The officers of the State Government of Assam as well as academicians from Guwahati and Dibrugarh University along with other resource persons deserve special mention for their collective effort in bringing out the report. The analysis, comments and views given in this report are not necessarily that of the Government of Assam. The independence of views have not been interfered with in any way. It is hoped that it will serve as a useful tool to both Government and non-Government agencies on the issue of Human Development in the regional perspective. Chief Minister, Govt. of Assam, Dispur, Guwahati HIMANTA BISWA SARMA DISPUR, GUWAHATI - 781006 MINISTER OF STATE PHONE: (0361) 2261094(0) PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT, AGRICULTURE 2268419 (R) Govt. of Assam Message Assam is bringing out its first Human Development Report prepared with the generous support of the UNDP and the Planning Commission. There was great enthusiasm in the preparation of this Report and I am confident that the report would play a critical role in shaping the State Government’s policy and programmes for human development. The Report will also be a basis for decentralised planning in the context of the new Panchayati Raj Set up. The Assam Human Development Report, 2003 will attract considerable interest from Social Scientists, Researchers and Academicians and would facilitate a wide debate on all issues concerning human development. (HIMANTA BISWA SARMA) Minister of State, Planning and Development, Assam Dr. Rohini Nayyar Adviser (Rural Development) Message We are very pleased that the State Government of Assam has prepared the first Assam Human Development Report. The Report provides an objective account of the status of human development as well as identifies the challenges for future action. The Report pioneers the calculation of the district level Human Poverty Index (HPI) and offers methodological insights that may benefit other State government as well. We hope that it will be widely disseminated and discussed in Assam. Strategies and programmes must be so designed as to address some of the problems faced by the people of Assam, more directly. Also, the focus must be on districts lagging behind in the attainment of human development as per standard indicators. Let me once again felicitate the State government for this important exercise, which also helps set the roadmap for future follow-up action. (Dr. Rohini Nayyar) Adviser (Rural Development) Planning Commission United Nations Development Programme Message I congratulate the Government of Assam for preparing their first Human Development Report. The Report maps the current status of human development across districts and provides fresh insights into the development process. It is the first State Human Development Report in the country that has attempted to compute a district level Human Poverty Index (HPI). The Report documents successes in different sectors, especially attainments in literacy and improvements in access to health facilities through innovative schemes. The vibrant community institutions, non-governmental organisations and voluntary associations of people that are special features of the State are also captured in the report, at the same time that it identifies the challenges, and offers concrete suggestions to enhance human development in Assam. Decentralisation and gender equality have been identified by the Government of India for United Nations-wide focus in India. It is heartening that the development strategy advanced by this Report calls for a greater role for local bodies and participation of women in the political arena. It is UNDP’s hope that this Report will be instrumental in directing policy priority towards the social sectors. Maxine Olson UNDP Resident Representative & UN Resident Coordinator 55, Lodi Estate, Post Box No. 3059, New Delhi 110 003, India Tel : (91 11) 2462 8877 Fax : (91 11) 2462 7612 E-mail : [email protected], http://www.undp.org.in Cable : UNDEVPRO, New Delhi P.K. DATTA DISPUR, CHIEF SECRETARY GUWAHATI - 781006 Govt. of Assam Preface The first Human Development Report brought out by UNDP in 1990 starts with the following lines “The real wealth of a nation is its people. And the purpose of development is to create an enabling environment for people to enjoy long, healthy and creative lives. This simple but powerful truth is too often forgotten in the pursuit of material and financial wealth”. It is universally accepted that development bears a connotation different from growth in GDP. The economic achievement may not usually reflect the quality of life of a society. In UNDP’s HDR it is rightly remarked “Human development is the end - economic growth a means. So, the purpose of growth should be to enrich people’s lives”. At present UNDP’s concept of Human Development covering three critical dimensions of well-being has got wide acceptance. As per UNDP’s definition Human Development is nothing but “enlarging people’s choices” and these choices are varied and changing over time. The three basic issues of well-being are - a long and healthy life, access to knowledge and skills and control over resources to ensure a decent standard of living. Taking into account these three broad parameters, UNDP envisages to measure the people’s welfare by way of constructing composite Human Development Index (HDI). Recognising the existence of gender disparity in development process UNDP subsequently developed Gender Development Index (GDI) and Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM) as well as well as Human Poverty Index (HPI) as a complement to HDI. Regional disparities in Human Development can easily be gauged with these simple indicators. Already some of the states of India have published Human Development Report mainly basing on these indicators. The Planning Commission, Government of India also has recently published the National Human Development Report, 2001 that seeks to rank the states in terms of different Human Development Indicators. The efforts of the other states and inspiration from UNDP as well as Planning Commission, Government of India prompted the State Government of Assam to undertake the tasks of preparing a State Human Development Report of Assam. Human Development encompasses not only human capacity building viz., good health, more knowledge etc. but also concerns proper use of these capabilities. In addition to health, education and income people have also other important choices like, political freedom, human rights, self-respect etc. The State HDR of Assam attempts to focus some important aspects of Human Development pertaining to the State besides ranking its districts as regards HDI, GDI and HPI. In constructing HDI and GDI, UNDP’s methodology has been adopted while different sets of HPI are computed taking into account additional variables. People’s choices may vary according to ethnic group, religion, place of residence etc. Even the people belonging to the same ethnic group or religion may differ in choices according to place of residence, level of education, economic status etc. Some are of the view that HDI, GDI or HPI are oversimplification of the ground reality. Nevertheless the composite indices HDI, GDI and HPI have universal relevance and are useful until alternative measures are evolved. The balance sheet of development activities undertaken by the Government does not present the complete and clear picture of human development status in the State. On this background, the State HDR of Assam seeks to cover more than mere departmental progress report on target and achievement of various organs of the State Government. It, therefore, takes into account initiative taken by non-governmental organisation and voluntary agencies. There is no denying the fact that a better appreciation of the status of Human Development is well nigh impossible sans strong database. The inadequacy of existing database has made the present HDR confined to limited area and analysis. There is a felt-need for improvement of the statistical system in the State. Applying the methodology given in UNDP’s 1997 HDR, human development and gender development indices have been constructed for the districts of Assam for 2001, as the required data for later period are not available. The estimates of the two sets can be effectively used to measure the regional disparity within the State.