( Published as an editorial article in Economic Times 24 May, 1998)

Anil K. Rajvanshi, Director

Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute (NARI),

P.O. Box 44, PHALTAN-415 523, Maharashtra

E-mail: nariphaltan@sancharnet.in

In 1931 Mahatma Gandhi gave one of his finest political speeches at the London Round Table Conference. In essence he told the conference that Britain, a great nation with its technology, and an independent India - a proud and ancient civilization with its work force and natural resources, can work together as a Commonwealth to produce the world’s largest economy for the benefit of mankind.

To my mind the greatest apostle of swadeshi (self reliance) and peace of this century understood much ahead of his time that the well being of India lies in international cooperation to solve not only its own problems but in doing so give the world a new way of thinking.

All the talk of the BJP government regarding swadeshi is therefore hollow. By stopping few MNC’s (who may also produce potato chips) will not bring in swadeshi movement but is a retrograde step. BJP’s talk of swadeshi comes from a feeling of insecurity and the policy of protectionism is another name for incompetence and insecurity. In this age of global economy only those countries can become truely swadeshi who not only solve their problems uniquely but also show the world a new path.

I present a possible solution in this article whereby a thesis is developed which shows that food and energy self sufficient Talukas can reduce the energy import bill of India, increase the exports, increase the inflow of foreign Institutional funds for development and can be a new paradigm of sustainable development not only for India but for the rest of the developing world. This will be a true swadeshi development of India.

India’s energy scenario is quite bleak. There is a shortfall of about 15000 MW of electric power every year and last year we imported about Rs. 25,000 crore worth of petroleum products. With increased economic growth the situation of both electricity and liquid fuel supply will deteriorate further. There are also estimates that oil energy consumption in developing countries could surpass that in developed countries within 20 years. This will create great conflict among nations and it is quite possible that in future the wars will be fought over energy sources. There is therefore a need for an alternative development model based upon renewable energies which is decentralized and takes into account the aspirations of the rural population.

Developing countries (D.C.) in the absence of any other alternative are presently following 100 years’ old unsustainable model of developed countries which is megacity oriented and is based on fossil fuel and environmentally unsound technologies. This model is creating in D.C.’s problems of overcrowded and extremely polluted cities; desperate exodus of rural population to them; health problems for their citizens; increasing income disparity leading to economic discontent and general breakdown of law and order. Recent riots in cities like Bombay, Delhi, Surat, Coimbatore, etc. are the direct result of this development model which leads to extremely stress ridden living conditions in them.

Similarly village sustainability models have failed since small villages do not have the critical mass to grow in terms of infrastructure (especially energy), income generating capability and economic power. Hence small (villages) may be romantic and beautiful but is unsustainable while big (cities) may be productive but is ugly in its growth pattern. Taluka is the middle path model. With its population size and its fairly developed infrastructure, Taluka can form a critical mass for a sustainable society in developing countries.

A Taluka is an administrative and geographical block consisting of an average of 80-100 contiguous villages. It has a geographical area of about 1000-1500 Km² and population of about 2 to 2.5 lakhs. There are 3342 Talukas in India and the major activity in them is agricultural. The fixed geographical boundaries of Taluka can be thought of as a closed biomass and rainwater basin. Hence each Taluka can produce majority of its demands of food, fuel, fodder and fertilizer from the natural resources and agro-based material available in it and the development can be truely sustainable. For some Talukas that do not have sufficient biomass resources, other energy sources like solar and wind can be used to produce energy.

India produces in its Talukas ~ 400 million tons/yr. of surplus agricultural residues which theoretically can produce ~ 53,000 MW of power. This power is 70% of the total amount available in the country as of today from all other sources. Not only can these residues produce adequate power to supplement existing power production, but husbanding this resource properly, can also produce adequate animal feed and fertilizer. With increasing food production the agricultural residues quantity will also increase. This will have a positive feedback on the whole scenario and will in turn improve the rural economy and the quality of land. However as this agricultural residue is spread all over the country and is very decentralized, it points towards decentralized power production systems which makes it suitable for Taluka level.

My Institute Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) did a study for Phaltan Taluka in Western Maharashtra, where it was shown that all the energy needs of the Taluka for 2000 AD could be supplied by the use of its biomass resources. This study became the basis for National Policy on Energy Self- sufficient Talukas in 1997 and is being implemented nation-wide by the Ministry of Non-conventional Energy Sources (MNES).

The NARI study showed that Phaltan Taluka produces ~ 100,000 tons/yr. of surplus agricultural residues which are presently burnt in the fields as a part of waste disposal process and hence are total loss of useful energy. These residues in conjunction with energy plantations (Leucaena, Prosopis, Eucalyptus etc.) and energy crops like sweet sorghum and sugarcane can produce about 40 MW of electric power (via biomass based power plants) and liquid fuels (pyrolysis oil and ethanol) which are equivalent to 30 million liters/year of petroleum products. This will take care of all the commercial energy needs of Taluka for 2000 AD via renewable energy and hence the production could be done on a sustainable basis. The study also showed that this strategy has the potential of creating 30,000 jobs and giving ~ Rs. 200 crore/year income to the Taluka (1 crore = 10⁷ ). For this program a total capital investment of about Rs. 300 crore/Taluka will be required in the plants, machinery and technology. Hence for 3342 Talukas a massive investment of about one million crore rupees will be required. This can be very attractive for foreign institutional investors and can result in large inflow of foreign funds.

With the production of fuels like pyrolysis oil and ethanol (substitute for diesel, petrol and kerosene) from agro based materials, the Taluka strategy has the potential of making our oil import bill almost zero.

The study also showed that Taluka has adequate amount of other biomass derived materials like night soil, vegetable waste, weeds, municipal solid waste and animal/chicken manure that which can be processed via technologies like vermiculture, composting and generally husbanding them so that they yield excellent fertilizer for the farmers. This has the ability of developing a whole range of fertilizer industry in rural areas that will be organic, sustainable and economically viable. Further the study showed that with husbanding the Taluka’s rainfall properly via check dams and percolation tanks most of its water requirements for agriculture and energy could be taken care of.

One of the tragedies of rural areas in India and other developing countries has been the lack of production of value-added goods. This has resulted in very little remuneration to the farmers and hence the depletion of rural wealth. We feel that Taluka provides a critical mass for production of agro-based value-added products. With availability of power and raw materials (agriculture based), items such as fertilizers, chemicals, finished food products, etc., can be produced. With smart and high technology based "bench-top" production facilities available in future, it may be possible to produce substantial amounts of locally consumed items. This will further help in increasing the wealth of Taluka. Identification and evaluation of cutting-edge small-scale manufacturing technologies for both agro-based and consumer products will help Talukas leapfrog into modern age. They will thus get the ability to produce both potato chips and microchips in swadeshi style. Besides agro-food industry can become one of the biggest export earners for India.

Two major forces have shaped the life on this planet - food and energy production. In future only those societies will prosper who can adequately take care of food and energy security. Taluka - a rural and decentralized entity can provide such a security.

The above strategy will create wealth in Taluka and improve the quality of life of its citizens, provide employment to them and reduce their desperate exodus to big cities. This increase in wealth of Taluka will lead to decentralization of economic and hence political power - the essence of democracy. Historically it has been shown that development and democracy work best in decentralization power structure. This decentralization therefore is the best bet against economic deprivation, corruption and unaccountable ruling elite.

Societies are living and dynamic structures. In evolutionary process they can be thought to follow the laws of a natural living system. Hallmark of evolution of a dynamic system is its size reduction; increase in energy usage efficiency; increase in complexity and possession of critical mass. Shape of societies is like energy structures. It depends upon the quality and the quantity of energy passing through them. From this evolutionary model it can also be conjectured that in future with the increasing use of renewable energy all societies will evolve to be decentralized, high technology dependent and rural based. Similarly the megacities will break into smaller sustainable units. India is already a rural based decentralized society. Hence itstead of going the way of megacity based model, it is better to arrest this trend by introducing high technology systems in Taluka areas.

Development and introduction of new technologies for energy, feed and fertilizer production at Taluka level offers an excellent opportunity for North-South cooperation. India and other developing countries offer a huge market for North. At the same time the development of these technologies specifically for south will also help the local industries in the South. Since in future the societies will evolve towards decentralization it is quite possible that this technological development and Taluka plan may benefit the North itself. Taluka model will then become truely swadeshi.

Finally, the Taluka plan can become a reality if the Government of India can create conditions for the private sector to take part in it. This could include giving the usual tax incentives given to renewable energy sector and to set up a Taluka Development Corporation to facilitate this process.

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