Tikender Singh Panwar
Ex deputy mayor, Shimla
Dated: July 20, 2023
I am writing this letter to you calling for a “Commission of Inquiry” into the ravaging floods that have cause havoc in the state and the losses resulting from faulty models of development. Before I jump to explaining the reasons for such a demand, let me acknowledge a fact: your government has been indeed very active in mitigating the challenges during the previous weeks. Not just the political leadership, the executive was also among the people trying to help and engage with the challenges.
Why a Commission of Inquiry
I think it is the need of the hour to have a “Commission of Inquiry” (CoI) to be headed by a retired supreme court judge, preferably someone who hails from Himachal Pradesh. As you have stated, this governance is a departure from the previous ones; let me mark a point that this departure must be linked to not just few demands being fulfilled but also to the processes that the state must undertake ensuring for a vyavastha parivartan (Systemic change). The process must have people at the core of the entire planning process.
Whilst demanding a “Commission of Inquiry” it is pertinent here to mention that the loss to the assets in the state and the people is not just because of some isolated tranche of climate change and a higher precipitation caused such a colossal damage. It is because of the systemic policy framework and failure, so as to say, failure of the planning institutions and departments in embarking a path of development alien to the mountain etiquettes, aesthetics, and realities. The CoI can go into details of the reasons for such failures in the developmental trajectory, including hydropower, tourism, construction of four lane and two-lane highways, etc.
This approach aligns with your slogan, as the CoI will have the opportunity to go back to the people and make them important stakeholders in framing the reasons for such systemic failures. Sukhu, bhai, honestly speaking, there have been two models of development in the past. The first one which began in the early 70s was visualised by the collecting leadership of Dr Y S Parmar.
This period lasted about 20 years and then since the mid-90s we have another period of development called the liberalization period that has now come to a dead end. Now is the time to bring in a major disruption in the planning models and renew the developmental trajectory for a brighter, resilient, secure future for our people and the state. The liberalization period model has brought nightmares to the state.
Not just in the economic sphere, but as you can witness in the ecological, environmental, and geographical spheres as well. The current model is untenable and therefore your slogan of systemic change is quite appropriate. What can the CoI do in this regard? Without any prejudice if a process of massive engagement is unleashed it can fetch dividends for newer models of development that can sustain, linked to the 17SDGs(Sustainable Development Goals) and are resilient. Through a ‘Commission of Inquiry’ the state government can bring the largest stakeholder on board- the people.
During the course of Inquiry, the people will get an opportunity to be part of their collective futures through collective participation. Whether the government considers implementing these findings or keeping them at bay is a separate matter. It is high time that we must come out of the limited interventions either through the courts or the executive, rather have a more meaningful dialogue with the people- after all the constitution envisages that-“We the People.” Himachal requires a major disruption for a sustainable and secure future.
This should impregnate the third policy paradigm of development, the two earlier ones being- the Dr Y S Parmar model, and the post-90s liberalization model. Without a new model of development, the state is getting caught in a quagmire with no way to come out of it. Let this exercise begin with a Commission of Inquiry that can lay the foundation of a new beginning for the people and the state.
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