The commotion over the building of a dam over the Narmada River in the western Indian state of Gujarat hogged the headlines in India over the past few weeks. Medha Patkar, activist and leader of the Narmada Bachao Andolan (Save Narmada movement), went on a 20-day fast to protest the government's failure to come to the aid of an estimated 500,000 villagers who have lost their livelihood as a consequence of the Sardar Sarovar dam, which will supply electricity to Gujarat state.
The issue has become a classic one of haves vs. have-nots: On one side are the farmers who need the dam to irrigate their fields, and on the other are those who have lost access to their land because of it. And true to type, the ruling Congress administration in New Delhi, afraid of alienating any bloc of potential voters, didn't make a decision. Instead the government left it to the Supreme Court to direct the state to speed up its program for compensating and relocating the area's inhabitants.
Power struggle
It all generates a rather depressing sense of deja vu. Patkar has staged several hunger strikes in the 20 years the dispute has been running, in support of the rights of the local tribespeople. The Supreme Court has handed down several decisions and directions on the building of the dam and compensation and relocation efforts -- and reaffirmed them last month.
The federal, state and local governments have been lax in implementing either their promises, the law or the Supreme Court directives. In short, it's been business as usual in the world's 10th largest economy.
It's a grim scenario for a country that aims to be a world super power. India is at a critical juncture in its development. Its private companies have performed so well that the Bombay Stock Exchange attracts $1 billion a month in foreign investment. India's software, telecom, pharma and auto industries are globally competitive, and the country's vibrant culture produces movies and music that are popular in Asia and gradually gaining an audience in the West.
Endless delays
But concerns about India's ability to sustain the boom are cropping up. There's the overheated stock market and the real-estate gold rush -- both indications that there's too much money chasing a limited supply of a good thing. For India to keep up its momentum, it must make a giant leap into China-style 10% annual growth. And that growth will only come when policymakers begin a serious campaign to tackle the country's gaping infrastructure deficit.
Sadly, as the Narmada dam shows, this is not regarded as a pressing issue in New Delhi. For the last two years, during his visits to foreign capitals, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has invited investors to participate in India's $150 billion infrastructure buildout -- large projects for power, water, mines, roads, ports, rail, airports, townships, and more recently, special economic zones. All these, of course, require the acquisition of land and the relocation and
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