The good of small things

by Idéfix Mon Aug 05, 2013 12:53 am

This article appeared in the Economist a few months ago. I agree with much of what they say.

http://www.economist.com/news/asia/21574544-creating-new-smaller-states-should-be-made-easier-good-small-things

Vast Uttar Pradesh (UP) should decades ago have been diced into more manageable parts. On the eve of last year’s election for the state assembly, the then chief minister, Mayawati, put forward a resolution to divide the 200m-plus population into four new states. Many locals like the idea.

... Elsewhere, too, many of India’s 35 states and union territories are at demographic extremes. They are either monsters like UP and Maharashtra (their combined population of 320m is greater than that of the United States), or minnows with barely 1m people.

Ideally, India needs a new commission to decide how to reorganise states, for it would be a mistake to leave it to politicians always thinking about the next election. Already the states, with an average of 35m people each, look unmanageably large, on the whole. By mid-century India’s overall population is expected to be 1.6 billion. If they are to fit into better-run smaller states, then someone has to get around to forming another 20 or 30 of them.

by Idéfix Mon Aug 05, 2013 12:55 am

One point they do not make in the article: India had a population of 400 million when the last comprehensive reorganization of states was done. Now it has thrice as many people.

by Merlot Daruwala Mon Aug 05, 2013 12:57 am

Small states are a good idea, but there should be rules about the extent of overheads a state government can run up.

The splitting process should be used to get rid of administrative deadwood to fund for the additional positions created so net net, the combined headcount of state employees in the the parent state and the child state should not exceed that of the undivided state.

by Marathadi-Saamiyaar Mon Aug 05, 2013 1:26 am

Idéfix wrote:This article appeared in the Economist a few months ago. I agree with much of what they say.

http://www.economist.com/news/asia/21574544-creating-new-smaller-states-should-be-made-easier-good-small-things
[i]

It may appear to make sense. But, one should remember that in the US Montana and Wyoming, delaware, etc..have populations of less than 1 mil each while Cali, Texas, FL are real biggies.

The big difference is the political system is somewhat designed so that even the small states have same power as big states (in Senate). While the Congress is like parliament - based on states population - and hence control, India lacks a senate.

The rajya sabha is a joke with no real absolute power. The Rajya Sabha should be reconstituted immediately into a US senate model with each state haviing 2 or 3 representatives each giving all states equal power. Making rajya sabha just as powerful will empower the smaller states. Then there is no need to split states. right now the splitting is done based on wrong social/demographic reasons.

As and when the states are indeed reorganized - I am against it - it should also consider the river water sharing and make it binding or put all the rivers into a river corporation. Notice that no one seems to fight as much on sharing of railways. While rivers are certainly different, centralizing and making it independent will avoid the inherent problem if divvying up the states - again I am against it, unless accepted and requested wholeheartedly by the states people.

by rawemotions Mon Aug 05, 2013 2:02 am

Idéfix wrote:This article appeared in the Economist a few months ago. I agree with much of what they say.

http://www.economist.com/news/asia/21574544-creating-new-smaller-states-should-be-made-easier-good-small-things

Vast Uttar Pradesh (UP) should decades ago have been diced into more manageable parts. On the eve of last year’s election for the state assembly, the then chief minister, Mayawati, put forward a resolution to divide the 200m-plus population into four new states. Many locals like the idea.

... Elsewhere, too, many of India’s 35 states and union territories are at demographic extremes. They are either monsters like UP and Maharashtra (their combined population of 320m is greater than that of the United States), or minnows with barely 1m people.

Ideally, India needs a new commission to decide how to reorganise states, for it would be a mistake to leave it to politicians always thinking about the next election. Already the states, with an average of 35m people each, look unmanageably large, on the whole. By mid-century India’s overall population is expected to be 1.6 billion. If they are to fit into better-run smaller states, then someone has to get around to forming another 20 or 30 of them.

Just after Telengana declaration BJP asked for it, and Congress has refused.

by confuzzled dude Mon Aug 05, 2013 8:37 am

Idéfix wrote:One point they do not make in the article: India had a population of 400 million when the last comprehensive reorganization of states was done. Now it has thrice as many people.

I didn't bother reading the article but I think that would be a real bad idea, I was actually thinking about the impact of population growth the other day. If managing human resources is an issue then one should consider doubling the # of political representatives without creating small states all over the country, which in itself is a BAD idea given the history of political management and lack of vision. Issue with creating smaller states would create a logistical nightmare in terms of sharing natural resources. Bihar & Jharkhand are facing this issue and I'm positive SeemAndhra state will face it too.

by Idéfix Mon Aug 05, 2013 1:13 pm

Merlot Daruwala wrote:Small states are a good idea, but there should be rules about the extent of overheads a state government can run up.

The splitting process should be used to get rid of administrative deadwood to fund for the additional positions created so net net, the combined headcount of state employees in the the parent state and the child state should not exceed that of the undivided state.

I agree. There are two major concerns with smaller states around India: disputes across new borders over shared resources, and increasing government overheads. I think every new state in reality leads to quite a few additional government jobs. Some kind of cap on overheads would be a good idea.

In the case of Telangana, TRS already promised to regularize contract employees from Telangana who work for the government now. That will mean several thousand new employees.

As for resource sharing, India needs central institutions that are seen to be above regional biases in order to ensure fairness. If that is not done (or possible), then new states will spell more new troubles. The potential gains in better governance from small states may well be eroded by losses due to disputes between neighboring states and the resulting unrest and loss of efficiency in exploiting those shared resources together.

by Idéfix Mon Aug 05, 2013 1:17 pm

Marathadi-Saamiyaar wrote:
Idéfix wrote:This article appeared in the Economist a few months ago. I agree with much of what they say.

http://www.economist.com/news/asia/21574544-creating-new-smaller-states-should-be-made-easier-good-small-things
[i]
It may appear to make sense. But, one should remember that in the US Montana and Wyoming, delaware, etc..have populations of less than 1 mil each while Cali, Texas, FL are real biggies.

The big difference is the political system is somewhat designed so that even the small states have same power as big states (in Senate). While the Congress is like parliament - based on states population - and hence control, India lacks a senate.

The rajya sabha is a joke with no real absolute power. The Rajya Sabha should be reconstituted immediately into a US senate model with each state haviing 2 or 3 representatives each giving all states equal power. Making rajya sabha just as powerful will empower the smaller states. Then there is no need to split states. right now the splitting is done based on wrong social/demographic reasons.

Your logic is mixed up. If small states are given more powers using a US Senate model, then there will be more clamor in India for small states. Right now, one of the disadvantages for a small state in India is that it doesn't get as much political attention from the center, because it doesn't have enough seats in Lok Sabha. If every state in India has equal weight in Rajya Sabha, then Telugus on the whole will increase their clout in Delhi by splitting their state into three pieces.

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