Dear friends,
It gives me immense pleasure in welcoming you all to Leh. I sincerely hope you will enjoy the unique topography’ the rich culture and the traditional hospitality of Ladakh and its people.
I take this opportunity to share with you some thoughts on the Development scenario of Leh District. I also hope that some aspects of this might interest you in your CSR initiative.
Historically, Ladakh has occupied a strategic position in the geo- politics of this region. From being an important trade center during the rule of the kings of Ladakh to gaining the status of an important tourist destination in recent years, the region has experienced several ups and downs, Ladakh’s cultural heritage and its social systems and mechanisms are an interesting episode of human interaction with nature, with characteristics like a judicious mix of optimum utilization of resources with due respect for conservation and a spirit of self –reliance with a strong sense of interdependence. Ladakhis, therefore, have a strong desire to preserve these values while embracing modern development and to enrich their heritage by imbibing democratic principles and universal human values as contained in the Indian constitution and the UN charter.
Ladakh has come a long way on the path of development and progress. Improved road connectivity, better infrastructural facilities and improved health care are some example. However, if we look back at the recent history, the period between India’s independence and the middle of 90’s would be remembered for the legacy of a centralized governance structure and a top – down approach to Development Planning. It is not that Development did not happen, but with little regard to people’s aspirations. The region got relegated to the margin as a ‘backward’ district of J&K, to be ‘administrated’ by Srinagar. Ladakhi resentment against an imposed governance structure led to demands for separation from J&K and granting of UT status for the region. The struggle intensified in 90’s till the enactment of LAHDC Act of 1995 followed by constitution of LAHDC Leh. Since then, this democratically elected autonomous body has been leading the process of Development Planning in the District. Although LAHDC remains constrained by several factors like its limited mandate, lacking capacities and so on, past 3 terms of this institution have led to marked improvements in quality and relevance of various programs. However, Development work continued to lack a proper sense of direction. LAHDC Leh, therefore, initiated a visioning process in 2005 in order to evolve a framework for coordinated action for achieving development goals based on the aspirations of the people of this region. As an outcome of this process, the District came up with a Vision Document entitled ‘Ladakh 2025’.
I would like to summarise here the key elements of ‘Ladakh 2025’.
‘Ladakh 2025’ envisions the emergence of Ladakh in next 10 to 15 years as ‘the best model of Hill Area Development and an ideal society with attributes like economic self – reliance, full employment, quality of life, equity and social justice, peace and freedom, respect for universal human values’. Under Economy, people of Ladakh envisage a central role for land based activities and adherence to the principle of self – reliance through a blend of traditional practices and modern scientific know – how. At the same time, other sectors of economy will be explored and utilized to optimum levels. Under ‘New Economy’, priority will be given to put Ladakh on the Industrial Map of the Nation through tapping local resources (including arts and crafts) and by promoting entrepreneurship, enabling the use of I.T. for employment generation and scaling up tourism to benefit more people, particularly in rural areas. However, conservation of the fragile eco – system, preservation of cultural values and equitable distribution of resources as well as benefits of Development will be primary considerations in our endeavor for economic development. Whereas Leh Town and Block HQs will be provided with modern civic amenities, efforts will be made to make the Village a happy place to live, with availability of all basic facilities. While water resources will be well preserved and judiciously used, reliable and affordable power supply will be assured with particular focus on use of renewable sources. On Education, ‘Ladakh 2025’ aims at building the human resource in every child to full potential through harmonious use of our natural resources and under the guidance of our cultural resources. It also envisages a holistic Heath scenario encompassing physical, mental, social and ecological well – being. It envisages for Ladakh a society firmly upholding its core social and cultural values and preserving its heritage, monuments, arts, crafts. On Planning and Governance, the existing processes and mechanisms will be enabled to match the spirit of Panchayati Raj through promoting Micro Level Planning and strengthening democratic governance structures at village and block levels. In short, economic development will be pursued with due consideration to social networks, the ‘new economy’ will be spearheaded by I.T. and the social infrastructure will be based on principles of equity and participatory governance.
Currently, we are engaged in a strategy development process aimed at bringing the ‘District Plan’ (and other programs) in line with the goals and principles of ‘Ladakh 2025’. We also propose to avail the 12th FYP period to bring about a strategic thrust on our development plans and programs to fulfill these goals and to strengthen these principles. We have completed a round of preliminary exercises involving our Hon’ble Councilors and HODs with the help of TISS, SDTT and IDBI. We expect other national and international organizations to participate and provide technical and financial support in the process. The next 6 months (between October 2011 and March 2012) will be crucial as we shall be finalizing our thematic priorities through a participatory process, negotiating the framework with Govt. of J&K and Planning Commission, and developing proposals for programs under various sectors so as to be able to start their implementation from April 2012 onwards.
It may be premature for me to speak on the framework likely to emerge for implementation during 12th FYP. Issues are closely interlinked and surrounded with complexities. New themes are also emerging, e.g., Disaster Risk Reduction and Mitigation (you are all well aware of the havoc caused around Leh by the flashfood in August 2010). However, we seem to be faced with the urgency to deal with 3 key themes before moving on to others. These themes are livelihoods, Education and Governance. I would now like to briefly comment on these themes.
‘Livelihoods’ is the key area of concern in which we have to set our priorities right. Ladakh’s economy was and is predominantly agriculture based, though new avenues like tourism, services, Labour work, etc. have led to considerable diversifications. Agriculture in Ladakh is highly labour intensive and there are now less number of people working in our fields than before. Yet, there has been a significant rise in vegetable cultivation and dairying in certain pockets. However, factors like growing alienation of young people from farming activities, slow pace of progress on farm mechanization and a continuing lack of strategy on crop choices (and to respond to market demands) have contributed to a stagnation or even decline in agriculture. On the other hand, import of consumables is on constant rise. Some progress has been made on value addition to products like Pashmina, Apricots and Tsestalulu (Seabuck thorne) but the existing policy environment has not fully succeeded to enthuse or attract our young and educated entrepreneurs and workers towards this direction Tourism (despite being unpredictable) is on a sharp rise (with increasing inflow of domestic tourists) but it continues to be seasonal. Moreover, we are yet to tap the full potential of this sector (particularly on themes like pilgrimage, Medical, Winter, Nature, Eco and conference tourism) and to disseminate the benefits of tourism to rural areas. Also, handicrafts, particularly linked to tourism, is yet to take off in the right direction. Under IT, we are yet to explore its potential for employment generation. Linked to this, promotion of viable Small Scale Industries and generation of thermal and solar energy are other areas of economy requiring strategic focus.
Education has been a major cause of concern. In primary and secondary education, despite an impressive budget (around Rs. 20,000 per child per year) and a teacher student ratio (of 1:5), govt. schools are unable to show results and to check the fast declining enrolment. Under Higher and Technical Education, Leh District (with a Degree college, an ITI and a Polytechnic) caters to only around 5% of its eligible youth while thousands of our students are enrolled in institutions outside Ladakh (with diminishing hopes for their prospects within the District). Since there is very little emphasis on occupational orientation in our Education system, there is a high degree of mismatch between skills produced and required in the Market. Currently, the District is faced with the problem of growing unemployment among educated and semi – educated youth (around 8%) while it imports thousands of skilled and semi- skilled workers from other parts of India (and Nepal) during summer every year. The situation of governance and planning is equally grim. The period before the emergence of LAHDCs in Ladakh was characterized by the highhandedness of bureaucrats and ‘experts’ with no space for local institutions, wisdom and aspirations. Things changed when LAHDC was constituted. However, in the absence of PRIs (and their constitutional mandate) in J&K, the old legacy of a top down approach continues to exist in one form or the other. LAHDC Leh believes that villages are not only a source of information and aspiration for various stakeholders, they are the primary actors of Development as well. We, therefore, envisage a governance structure in which people and their institutions occupy the center – stage of Development Planning and all matters of village/ community development (including provision of most services) are looked after by Gram Panchayats. Formulation of Micro Level Plans (MLP) alongwith a 5 year Perspective Plan under NREGA as a collaborative effort of LAHDC Leh, TISS and DRDA Leh was an important landmark in our endeavor to switch over to a decentralized planning process. As a result of recent Panchayat elections in J&K, we now have village Panchayats while Block Development Councils (BDCs) are expected to be constituted soon. In view of this, LAHDC Leh would like to accelerate efforts on empowering PRIs and evolving a participatory Development Model based on the concept of perspectives and plans emerging from Gram Sabhas and constituting the core of our sectoral programs and the ‘District Plan’.
We expect to be able to evolve a roadmap for effectively addressing some of the key issues facing development of Leh District (including those outlined above) in the next 5 years. With the hope that you would consider your participation in some aspects of our programs in the years to come, I once again welcome you all to Ladakh and wish you a comfortable and memorable stay as well as a fruitful meeting on the theme of CSR. I also thank you for giving me an opportunity to share with you some thoughts on the development scenario of Leh District.
Thank You.
Rigzin Spalbar
Chief Executive Councilor, LAHDC Leh.
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