Poverty Alleviation and Infrastucture development: An Indian Marshall Plan

In face of such poverty and hunger one asks the question: How do we feed our people AND integrate them in the economy? We can ride roughshod over our workers like the Chinese did or we can find a way conducive to our Religion, Culture and Democracy. One such way is Food for Work program where people work for food and other benefits instead of a straight up salary. This is a much better option than just giving food away. We combine the idea of Social Welfare with good economics. Workers and the taxpayers benefit alike. We have a lot of food that rots and gets wasted. We have a very large pool of unemployed poor workers. All we have to do is to combine the two. The food angle is obvious. A conscientious approach to food distribution would alleviate that. The second part of it is more complicated. The workforce in question is a mostly migrant worker who is trying to escape economic hardships in rural areas. Most of them migrate with or without their families. When the families get left behind, then the emotional aspect gets added to the poverty related problems. When the migration happens with the families, it is the children of these workers who face a number of problems including an uncertain future with a nomad like existence. These children apart from the danger of losing their schooling could also get engulfed in child labor. They spend maximum time in the dangerous construction sites and are deprived of a better future.

We cannot ignore the problems facing these migrant workers by sloganeering and xenophobia. That ostrich like approach benefits no one. Let us look at them with the intention of making them part of the solution. These economical backward people who are considered dirty, criminal, immoral and backward are very often energetic, indispensable and highly integrated to our urban economy and infrastructure developments. They deserve be a part of solution rather than a 'problem' themselves. At the crossroads of becoming a developed country we need to constitute a "Marshall Plan" to give a more humane version to the 'development'. There are already some scattered programs run by local NGOs, like 'Door Step Schools' and hostel facilities for children who are left behind by their migrating parents (usually for few months). But what we need is an integrated national framework for construction workers, strictly enforced and executed by people with integrity.

There are two types of constructions where such workers are involved. 1) Constructions within the city limits and 2) Constructions connecting various cities and states like highways construction, which could stretch to hundreds of miles. To improve the living and working conditions of these workers, policies tailored to each situation should be formulated. Following are some suggestions that could be applied to these two different settings.

For construction workers within a city - Residential facilities similar to hostel setting should be provided within every five to ten kilometers. A community kitchen should feed the workers, as part of their compensation. A crèche / day care for children should be included which can duplicate as a school for older children and night classes for adults. A small clinic with weekly physician visits could take care of health care issues. Such facility can also become a point where workers are provided courses on workers' rights and occupational health and safety. Builders can make reservations beforehand, to avoid last minute overbooking. Free shuttle service to and fro from the construction sites should be provided. Ventures like this could be jointly funded by center and state government, builders and donations (tax exempt). City dwellers especially school children and youth could volunteer man hours to serve the facility. They can be incentivized by providing 'Socially Responsible Citizen Certificate', ownership of which can be promoted as a matter of pride. Once the project is over, the workers who chose to stay back and are unable to find work should be given compulsory vocational training and placement, so that they can be absorbed within the local economy.

For intercity and interstate construction workers - Temporary 'colonies' should be built where workers can stay while the work progresses. Elements like construction trailers, modular buildings or good quality tents are used to make these colonies movable with the project. Portable toilets with transport trailer should be provided throughout the construction site. Community spaces within these colonies could include crèches, schooling for children and adults and health care facilities. Community kitchen serves meals throughout the day. Vocational training like carpentry, pottery work, and embroidery, welding can also be incorporated. Salaried teachers, doctors, cooks and assistants are appointed for each individual project. NGOs and volunteers are encouraged to become a part of such project. Such colonies could also act as a point for implementation of other social empowerment policies like micro crediting.

Now the enormity of such an idea should not be a deterrent. Instead the benefits of such a "Marshall Plan" should be an incentive for the Central Government. Schemes like these should be initially enforced upon one or two projects and subsequently these projects should be taken as a case study to eliminate any drawbacks that may arise with the implementation. Successes should be multiplied thereafter. Longer journeys begin with a step. Let's get started.