6
15.41 hrs.
CONSTITUTION (AMENDMENT) BILL – contd.
(Amendment of Article 39)
Title: Further discussion on the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2000 (Amendment of Article 39) moved by Shri Ramdas Athawale on 22 August, 2003. (Discussion concluded and Bill withdrawn).
MR. DEPUTY-SPEAKER : We shall now take up item no. 25 – further consideration and passing of the Bill. Shri Ramdas Athawale was on his legs. He is not here now. He has already moved the Bill. It does not matter. I call upon Shri Anadi Sahu to speak.
SHRI ANADI SAHU (BERHAMPUR, ORISSA): Me, Sir?
MR. DEPUTY-SPEAKER : You are Anadi Sahu – is it not?
SHRI ANADI SAHU : I think so, Sir!
Mr. Deputy-Speaker, Sir, I thought Shri Ramdas Athawale would come and make further presentation on his Bill itself. Anyway, although he is not present here, I must congratulate him for highlighting certain points which have been bothering this country for the last, almost 50 or 53 years. Even though we had enacted the Constitution and have indicated the Directive Principles of State Policy with a view to ensure that the State should endeavour for certain goals and achievements for the people of India, it is a sad reminder by this Bill itself that we have not yet been able to achieve what we had aspired for.
The Bill indicates that Article 39 of the Constitution of India be restructured with a view to give an impetus to generating employment and provide necessary facilities for self-employment. That is the main thrust of the Bill that Shri Athawale has brought in. When we think of generating employment and self-employment itself, I would like to dilate upon the constitutional provisions themselves. There are four basic points in Article 39 of the Constitution of India. The first one is right to adequate means of livelihood. That is most important in the Constitution which was framed by our Constitution-makers. The second is that there is no concentration of wealth with a particular group of people and that there should be equal pay for equal work and that children are not subjected to exploitation and that health and education and other necessary requirements should be taken care of.
These are the four basic matters which have been indicated in article 39. Though there are five or six sub-clauses, these are the basic essence and Shri Athawale has summed up all these things by indicating that equal opportunity should be provided to people and that there should be generation of employment.
May I indicate that human development is broad-based on three critical dimensions. The three critical dimensions for development of human beings depend on longevity, education, ability to enjoy a decent standard of living. I am not going into education and longevity. I am going into the ability to enjoy a decent standard of living. When we are thinking of a decent standard of living we must think of the per capita income that has to be generated for the people of this country for a better living and not a mere subsistence.
It is a fact that, at present, we have something like 26 per cent people who are below poverty line. In my State of Orissa we have nearly 47.10 per cent people who are below the poverty line. When we think of decent living standards, we must think of the people who are below poverty line and how to ameliorate their conditions to ensure that they have a decent living.
We have good foodgrains production and we are giving subsidy to the people — who grow grains — and all those things. Does it really reach the people? Does it give enough food to the people who are below poverty line? I am saying this because the purchasing power of those people is not adequate. We have to evaluate a nation on how the people are treated who are below poverty line, and we have to evaluate a nation by finding out as to whether we have created conditions to see that they get adequate purchasing power.
Sir, there are five monitorable groups so far as ameliorating the conditions of the people are concerned. The Government of India in its wisdom has started thinking on these aspects. They thought it proper — in the paper that was prepared before the 10th Five-Year Plan was projected — that there should be reduction of poverty ratio to 15 per cent by 2007. For reduction of this poverty ratio, the decadal growth of population should be 16.2 per cent by 2011. There should also be potable drinking water and gainful employment. Those are most important.
As regards gainful employment, it has been indicated in this Constitutional provision, which has come before us as a Private Member’s Bill itself. How can we get into this gainful employment for the people? The Government of India had constituted a task force that is called the Montek Ahluwalia Committee Task Force. The Montek Ahluwalia Committee Task Force had gone into the aspects of employment opportunities for the people. It has indicated its objectives. With your kind permission I would like to mention the Montek Ahluwalia Committee’s objectives that have been indicated in Chapter 11. I would just take a few minutes only because it is very important to mention it here.
The five broad areas of policy which together would constitute an appropriate strategy for employment generation are : firstly, accelerating the rate of growth of GDP — I am not going into the details. Secondly, pursuing appropriate sectoral policies in individual sectors, which are particularly important for employment generation. Thirdly, implementing focussed special programme for creating additional employment to enhance income generation from existing activities aimed at helping vulnerable groups that may not be sufficiently benefited by the more general growth promoting policies. Fourthly, pursuing suitable policies for education and skilled development. Fifthly, ensuring that the policy and legal environment governing the labour market encourages labour absorption, especially in the organised sector.
So far as the fourth point — as mentioned above — is concerned, you will kindly appreciate that educated unemployment has grown considerably. Every year eight per cent unemployed people are increasing because of the educated unemployed, whereas in the rural-agricultural sector it is only 0.2 per cent every year. In the category of semi educated people, it is something like 4.4 per cent of unemployed people. How can we get over these difficulties? The Government of India had gone into the details of these aspects and had come forward with macro-economic factors itself.
Sir, it has to be ensured that the GDP growth has to be something like eight to nine per cent in order to see that employment generation is good. We expect that the GDP growth would be seven per cent in the Tenth Plan period, but it has to grow considerably to give more employment to the people, particularly to the educated people, particularly to the urban-based people. In the rural-based people, in the unorganised sector itself, hardly two per cent people are employed. Every year, it will increase by two per cent. Now, the thing is that the workforce is increasing by two per cent every year whereas the employment potential is only 0.98 per cent every year. This is a very critical feature which has to be taken into account, when we think of providing employment to people. The workforce is increasing by two per cent whereas the employment potential is only 0.98 per cent every year. How do we go about it in increasing employment opportunities for the people, both in the urban and in the rural sectors? That is the most important thing. That requires lots of thinking and work to be done.
Now, how do we go about it? That also has to be taken into account and has been taken into account by the Task Force. I think, it is for the general information of the hon. Members here, the solutions to these problems have been thought of by the Task Force. The Task Force has indicated that the GDP growth has to go up to nine per cent and there should be a higher rate of investment. Investment has not come up to that extent as we have been thinking. Now, we are thinking of foreign direct investment also. Let investment come either from inside or from outside. Whatever may be the fact, the investment has to go up.
Then, the third is the improvement in efficiency. We do not have a lot of efficiency in our labour force, whether educated or skilled or unskilled. Therefore, the efficiency has to go up. Whenever we are thinking of employing people, there must be improvement in infrastructure. Infrastructure development has not gone up as we have been thinking of within the last 10 to 20 years.
Next is an efficient banking system. The Government of India, within the last two years, had given a liberal system for the banking sector. The Cash Reserve Ratio has been reduced; bank interest rates have been reduced; housing loan rates have been simplified and many other aspects have been taken into account to see that an efficient banking system is put in vogue. The most important thing, so far as the banking system is concerned, is credit for the informal sector, particularly the cooperative sector. The informal sector requires a lot of help so that non-banking systems, institutions, could get proper assistance to help the people, both in the urban areas and in the rural areas.
There is a necessity for public investment in agriculture because that is most important. About 60 per cent of our people, in India, depend mostly on agriculture and they have nothing more to do. Therefore, a proper investment in agriculture would help the people in gainful employment in the agriculture sector. When we are thinking of the agriculture sector, land reforms have to be taken into account. We are dismally poor in land reforms. We have gone down in this regard. I must appreciate the work done by West Bengal where the agricultural labour are getting Rs. 161 a day on an average, whereas in my State, it is only Rs. 42.50. They have systematically started working on the land reforms and have done a good job. We must appreciate that also.
It may not be possible to get employment in the public sector, in Government offices. It is necessary that there should be self-employment. Small-scale sector should be encouraged. Whatever necessary impetus has to be given should be given and is being given by the Government of India in very many ways.
Sir, you are aware that the services sector, like the IT, tourism, hotel industry and many others, has gone up like anything. They have to be encouraged not only by the State Governments and the Centre, but also by private individuals and entrepreneurs, and foreign direct investment has to be encouraged, so far as the services sector is concerned. We are happy that Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka have shown the way to the rest of country in the services sector, mostly in information technology sector. This IT sector has gone up. It should go up. India is on the top so far as IT sector is concerned. Why should we not allow people to invest more in the IT sector so that in other aspects of the services sector also we grow rapidly and compete with the best in the world? Most of these things are important when we think of the requirements for our country. That is what I think Shri Athawale had in mind while bringing forward this Bill.
Before I conclude, I would like to indicate some implications. The most important one is to create an employment policy for this country. Even though unemployment is on the rise, if you can have an employment policy, as indicated in the Ahluwalia Committee report, and if the Central and State Governments take it up, it would be possible to generate more employment opportunities for the people of this country. Instead of 0.98 per cent, we can go up to 1.75 per cent in the coming ten years. We cannot go up to two per cent, i.e., the workforce that is getting added every year, but we can go up to 1.75 per cent to 1.78 per cent.
Why I say all this is, at a time when we are considering the Constitutional (Amendment) Bill mooted by a Private Member, it is necessary that all of us should come together to ensure that people get employment in their own way. Let us take for example schemes like Sampurna Gramina Rozgar Yojana and Swarna Jayanti Rozgar Yojana. So many such schemes are there now. The only thing is that people should come together and form self-help groups which have been created by the Government of India where many people come together. All should come together to ensure that generation of employment is not only the duty of the Government concerned, not only the duty of the private sector, but also the duty of NGOs, all political parties, and all other people who are involved in social work.
Before I conclude, I would like to say that the Bill itself would not help us. It is a question of intention, the objective that is behind this Bill. We must take the objective, the principle that has been indicated by Shri Athawale. That is more important than passing the Bill itself. It has nothing to do with the Constitutional amendment. It is all rigmarole, a cumbersome process that has to be gone through.
15.58 hrs.
(Shri Devendra Prasad Yadav in the Chair)
What is important is that we must be aware of the difficulties that we are facing and we must try to ensure that we get good opportunities for our young people, educated or semi-educated, skilled or unskilled.
: माननीय सभापति महोदय, माननीय सदस्य, श्री रामदास आठवले जी ने संविधान संशोधन विधेयक, २००० सदन में प्रस्तुत किया है, मैं उस विधेयक की भावनाओं से अपनी सहमति व्यक्त करते हुए कहना चाहता हूं कि इस विषय में संविधान में पहले ही पर्याप्त प्रावधान हैं और संविधान के अनुच्छेद ३९ में यह व्यवस्था की गई है और कानून भी बनाए गए हैं तथा उन पर अमल करने की कोशिश जारी है। उन्होंने इस संशोधन के माध्यम से चाहा है कि संविधान के अनुच्छ्द ३९ के खण्ड (१) में निम्नलखित खण्ड और जोड़ दिया जाए :-
मुझे इस संबंध में कहना है कि राज्यों और केन्द्र सरकार द्वारा इस प्रकार की पर्याप्त व्यवस्था की गई है और आवश्यकता इस बात की है कि उस पर ठीक से अमल कर लिया जाए। उन्होंने जो चिन्ता व्यक्त की है, उस चिन्ता का अनुच्छेद ३९ में पहले से ही प्रावधान है।