Agenda in the time of climate change

As you read this, India will have a new-old government for the next five years. In my view, the agenda for the next government is the old one, but with a fundamental difference. This must be India’s agenda for development in and for the age of climate change. There is also the fact that the list of priority action areas remains the same. We have unfinished business when it comes to virtually everything — from energy to water and sanitation to food and nutrition to, of course, health and education. We know that the last government had schemes in place and budgets allocated for all these issues.
 

But we also know that ensuring the welfare and well-being of people is a work in progress. During this election, as journalists fanned out to listen to the opinions of voters, we heard that unemployment was a major concern; lack of clean drinking water and sanitation topped the agenda; the energy crisis was still wicked as the price of the liquefied petroleum gas cylinder was unaffordable and electricity unreliable. Farmers are still distressed. So, a lot of work still needs to be done, and in areas that the last government said it had checked off on its to-do list.
 

This should not come as a surprise. India is a vast country, with a massive deficit in governance. The last mile for any government scheme is about making sure that it reaches people — not once but every time. This is now combined with the impact of climate change where every day some or the other part of the country is being battered by at least one extreme weather event. This has huge implications for development programmes — unseasonal rain and extreme weather lead to more drought, flood, and loss of livelihood, putting an additional strain on the resources of the government.
 

This is why the future agenda must recognise that the imperative of development is about scale, speed, and imagination, which takes into account the need to do development differently. We need a new imagination in the design of development schemes.

 For long, governments have been caught between a welfare approach — which is often dismissed as a handout — and a capitalistic minimum-government approach. In my view, this age of climate risk needs a new narrative. The government needs to rework and re-engineer development so that it is inclusive, affordable and, so, sustainable. This means re-imagining the way we work in almost every sphere — from the supply of clean water, so that it is not resource- or capital-intensive, to the access to energy so that it is clean but, most importantly, affordable. This will require changes in design and then in delivery. We need a new development paradigm that can work for the planet, but for this, it needs to work for every last person.
 

What is important to note is that in most cases, the government has schemes and budgets. What we need is to learn from what is working and what is not. We need transformational action; and for this we need to ensure implementation -- and as I said with drive and obsession. 
 

But for all this to be possible we need two next-generation reforms. And this then is the make-or-break agenda for the government in my view.
 

One, we need to strengthen the ground-level institutions, where local people take part. We need participatory democracy to make development programmes work. It is now over 30 years since the country passed the 73rd and 74th amendments to the Constitution to empower people’s institutions — the Panchayati Raj in rural areas and the municipal system in urban India. We have also experimented with deepening democracy by strengthening Gram Sabhas or village assemblies. But all this is unfinished work. We have much more to do to give control over natural resources to village and city governments. We need them to manage funds and schemes; to create green jobs; and to invest in natural resources for livelihoods. We need to celebrate the noise of democracy.
 

We also need to strengthen the institutions of governance for a new India. Over the past few years, most conventional institutions have been deliberately, or by sheer neglect, allowed to decay. But the fact is governance and regulation need institutions that can apply deterrence with accountability and have the ability to navigate inconvenient and tough decisions.

Two, even more tomorrow than today, governance will need increased feedback and accountability. This needs tolerance for voices that differ. It is important to understand that alternative information is not dissent or targeted criticism. The more we learn about what is working and what is not, the more governance improves. Currently, most differing voices have been silenced. It is like an echo chamber where only cheerleaders thrive. In my view, this only makes a government poorer — they hear nothing and learn little.
 

Rebuilding trust is the key — not just for schemes to succeed but also for societies to thrive. This has to be the agenda. This is the time for change; for society to build green because it is inclusive; to build growth, because it is sustainable.

The writer is at the Centre for Science and Environment sunita@cseindia.org, X: @sunitanar