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Economic growth is not all we need. It's no wonder that rapid economic growth is also likely to exacerbate rather than decrease spatial inequality. Development specialists have taken it for granted, of course to the extent acceptable. Spatial disparity persists almost everywhere around the world and is a glaring issue for policy makers to respond adequately. But what we worry about is that over the last few decades, the gap has grown wider in our country. This disparity becomes more visible when we look at the socio-economic indicators of the haor areas which fall well short of expectations, notwithstanding our remarkable socio-economic progress and national economic growth.
The debate over Achilles' heel of development - do all of our regions move forward in a relatively parallel way when we are going from one stage of development to another? - still rages. Do our budget and development agenda reflect the special requirement of hard-to-reach underdeveloped regions of our country? As far as inclusive development is concerned, we can't flinch from answering these questions.
Despite the socio-economic marginalisation of the haor basin, it got less attention at the national level. The situation of haor dwellers deteriorates when they face early flash floods, in addition to the regular floods that they are accustomed to. This year, the region came under severe flooding, starting from March 28, 2017. The devastating flood affected around 4,667,000 people causing severe damage to the crops, amounting to a loss of about Tk 30400.83 million.
The government immediately responded to this havoc with its Vulnerable Group Feeding (VGF) and Open Market Sale (OMS) programmes. BRAC and some other NGOs also responded to the floods with services including food and cash support, fodder, deworming and vaccination for livestock and mid-day meal to students to reduce drop-out rate. But these obviously do not bring sustainable solution to their problems, nor can these services compensate for the damages to their means of livelihood.
The early flash flood, as reported, was not only a natural hazard but the governance issues pertinent to the embankments also attributed to the flood coming earlier than usual. A strong allegation of corruption in building the embankments was raised against the local authorities. Most of the embankments were not built or repaired on time which resulted in the destruction of all the loosely-built and defective flood protective device.
In response to this, the government formulated the "Kabita Policy-2017" which provides for formation of Project Implementation Committee (PIC) with 5-7 local farmers and beneficiaries which was previously formed with 3 representatives of local MP and one representative of local Upazila Chairman. Thankfully, the policy also specified the timeframe for formation of the committee. Obviously, the policy will meet success only when the embankments will be built and repaired on time without any irregularities or corruption, backed by a strong monitoring system involving among others the civil society and the NGOs.
It's worth mentioning here that the haor region contributes around 16.5 per cent of the total rice production of Bangladesh and 6-8 per cent of the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on an average. Any slowdown of the economy of the haor region will certainly affect our national growth. So, undertaking a long-term plan for the region is a must. Although it was long overdue, we were optimistic when the government recognising the vulnerability and miserable condition of the people of the area came up with the 'Master Plan of haor Area' in 2012, comprising a set of development activities for specific areas or issues for the next 20 years (up to FY 2031-32). Unfortunately, there is no notable progress in the implementation of the plan which makes one sceptical whether it is going to be implemented effectively at all.
The underlying theme of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - leaving no one behind - requires special provisions for the underprivileged and marginalised community. The 7th Five Year Plan also emphasises on inclusive growth all over the country. Hence, prioritising the underdeveloped and hard-to-reach region in our development agenda should be our commitment. Development will never be sustainable unless it becomes inclusive, mere economic growth may also create greater spatial disparity if the difficult-to-reach areas are left behind.
The foremost reason behind socio-economic exclusion of haor areas is that they have very limited livelihood opportunities in comparison to the other parts of Bangladesh. Alternative livelihood and creating greater employment opportunities may help them cope with climatic shocks and bring about a positive change in their lives. The government may undertake some skill development programmes for the haor dwellers for creating more livelihood opportunities, while private sector investment may also play a key role.
As mentioned above, the government undertook some measures to minimise the risk of early flash flood and its impact; it also formulated a master plan for long-term development for the depressed basins. But what is reprehensible is that we don't see the reflection of special needs of haor dwellers in our budgetary provisions. Hence, allocation of special budget for the region focusing on their holistic development is absolutely essential.
In the light of the foregoing, there are definite reasons to conclude that if we really want to bring about sustainable and inclusive development, we need to incorporate the haor region in all our development agenda, plans and programmes. Otherwise, the problem of spatial disparity may be exacerbated in the years to come.
The writer is Social Investigator, Advocacy for Social Change Programme, BRAC.