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The Rediff Special

Statehood brings fears of poverty and partition to Pondicherry

Forget now, folks, the row over Udhamsingh Nagar district. For, Pondicherry, now on the threshold of adulthood, has a bigger problem to be tackled.

The Union territory, spread over a mere 492 square kilometres, has four disparate parts -- Pondicherry, Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam -- all linked by a common history of French colonial rule.

With the Centre agreeing to grant statehood to it, a consensus seems to be emerging among political parties in Pondicherry that they should demand special category state status for the UT.

The demand stems from two widely-felt fears: one, statehood may mean delinking of Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam from Pondicherry and, two, it would be difficult to survive without central grants.

Despite shared historical links, there is little in common between the four parts of the Union territory. Karaikal is about 150 km south of Pondicherry and Yanam about 850 km north-east of it, near the East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh. Mahe is almost parallel to Pondicherry, 653 km away on the Kerala coast.

People in different parts of the Union territory speak different languages -- French, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam.

None of the political parties are reconciled to the idea of the division of Pondicherry.

To add to it, highly placed sources say the move to grant statehood contravenes international treaties and can be struck down by a court of law.

The Treaty of Accession of May 28, 1956, signed between then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and S Ostrorog, then French ambassador extraordinary in India, stipulates that the four former French establishments should remain centrally administered territories, retaining the special status which was in force prior to the de facto transfer on October 21, 1954.

Is special category state status an answer to this dilemma?

Pradesh Congress president P Shanmughan and Congress legislature party leader and former chief minister V Vaithilingam maintain that the nine unanimous statehood resolutions adopted by the territorial assembly over the years was for special category status.

But that is about all the argument available to justify the optimism on the Union government's announcement.

The real power in the UT rests with the lieutenant governor, who is normally guided by the bureaucracy. Ministers do not have powers to overrule the bureaucracy.

Officials say the state is not financially viable, which view is shared by many. Pondicherry has a population of just about 800,000, spread over the four areas. Its resource base is meagre, meeting a little over one fourth of the total plan and non-plan outlay.

While the revenue collection is just Rs 2 billion, its total expenditure (plan and non-plan) is about Rs 7 billion. The balance is bridged by the Centre.

Officials explain that once statehood is given, Pondicherry would be treated just like any other state -- there is little possibility of the Centre bailing it out on a permanent basis.

The problem with special category status to Pondicherry is that at present it is given only to border, tribal or terrorism-infested states. Pondicherry does not fall under any of these categories.

Plagued by so many difficulties, how is statehood of any help to the region then?

Welcoming the Centre's decision, Chief Minister R V Janakiraman had said statehood would help serve the people in a better way. Communist Party of India-Marxist secretary T Murugan had joined in, saying the government would have more powers, could take important decisions and would not have to rush to the Centre every time for help.

Legislators well versed with local problems would decide on how state funds are to be spend. They could also exercise their franchise in the presidential election. The state could demand more central grants, he had pointed out.

His optimism, however, is not shared by many. Pandian, a shopkeeper feels that once the central grants stop, the government would have to mobilise resources by imposing more taxes.

G Radhakrishnan, a retired government servant, said the level of corruption would increase once politicians gain more powers.

''When there is so much corruption now when the cabinet is accountable to the Union home ministry, I wonder how it will be when the cabinet gets full powers,'' he quipped.

Statehood has also not found favour with industrialists and government servants here.

Confederation of Government Employees' Association general secretary Deivasigamani said statehood should not be granted without a people's referendum.

His demand is justified under the statutes of the Indo-French Treaty of Accession.

The treaty stipulates that any constitutional change in the status should be made only after ascertaining the wishes of the people (Article 11 of the Treaty of Accession, Pondicherry Code Vol 1).

Deivasigamani claimed the government employees could lose all their benefits such as bonus and gratuity under the new arrangement.

Saidapet Industrialists Association president Georgekutty Abraham too expressed fears about the withdrawal of central grants. "Industrialists are worried that they would lose the benefit of central subsidy and tax holidays," he said.

Murugan feels the fears are ill founded. If properly handled, Pondicherry can mobilise additional revenue from the excise sector. It could also demand more grants from the Centre.

The Chari-Ramdoss Committee, set up by the Congress government in 1995 to study the financial viability of statehood, had asked for a strict vigil on non-plan expenditure, according to Deivasigamani. ''This means we, the government servants, are going to be the losers,'' he added.

Politicians, on the other hand, point out that the two-member committee had found statehood viable ''economically, administratively and in all other aspects.''

According to Dr Ramdoss, it would empower the legislative assembly to enact laws and schemes in tune with the requirements of the people -- a state service commission could be set up and financial assistance could also be obtained from international agencies like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

UNI

The Rediff Specials

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