Economic Growth Squandered on Symbolic Projects

Authored by jain and govil - astute political observers

Modinomics is yet to deliver – was the Op-ed written by the Editorial Board of Financial Times published from London -(https://twitter.com/ft/status/1069894756929585152. They have raised the following issues in the article.

• Modinomics yet to deliver to many (https://steemit.com/financialtimes/@ajain/ft-rebuttal-part-1-assessing-how-modinomics-has-reached-the-poor)
• Failed infrastructure overhaul (https://steemit.com/india/@ajain/ft-rebuttal-part-2-assessing-failed-infrastructure-overhaul)
• Failed attempt to turn country into a manufacturing powerhouse (https://steemit.com/india/@ajain/ft-rebuttal-part-3-assessing-make-in-india)
• Demonetization ineffective (https://steemit.com/india/@ajain/ft-rebuttal-part-4-demonitization)
• Economic growth squandered away on symbolic projects (Statue of Unity)
• Fudging statistics
• NPA’s (Non-Performing Assets of Banks)
• RBI Fracas (Reserve Bank of India)

We have initiated a series of eight articles where each issue raised in the Financial Times Op-ed as listed above, will be taken up and put under the microscope of facts and data to critically test the validity of the statements made.

source: http://www.statueofunity.in/

If there is one project that has caused tremendous consternation in the western world, especially UK, it is the Statue of Unity Project, the tallest Statue in the World. The project was announced by Narendra Modi in 2010 when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat.

Ever since the project has been announced, there have been many an uncharitable comment on the same. Not to be left behind, the Editorial Board in its Op-ed has stated that money spent on Statue of Unity is ‘squandering away resources’. One of UK’s politicians even suggested that UK should stop offering aid to India as India no longer needs it or deserves it (As if the UK gives aid for charitable reasons – but that story is for another day). The suggestion of UK politician was however taken up and rebutted by the then Finance Minister of India who told UK in no uncertain terms that the aid given by UK was not even peanuts given the gigantic development budget of India.

We move on to examine the merit of the statement made by the Editorial Board i.e building the Statue was squandering away resources.

First, the hard facts on the costs incurred. Let's get the perspective right. The total expense on the statue of unity was $ 400 million or so. With India’s expenditure budget of $400 billion plus, the expenditure on the statue to the tune of $ 400 million would roughly constitute 0.1%. Even assuming there are no other tangible benefits of the project, does this tiny expense qualify to be called squandering away of resources?

Having said that, the assumption that there are no tangible benefits can only be made by someone who is ill-informed or carries a chip on his shoulder either about Narendra Modi or the developing world per se. Or, is unable to come to terms with the fact that developing world is coming of age today and has the ability to execute projects to international standards successfully. When it comes to 'add on’ benefits, one is at a loss to understand where one should start, for the benefits are far too many.

We start with Unity. Almost 50,000 kgs used iron farming implements was collected from different villages across India as a symbolic gesture under the ‘Loha Campaign’ (Loha is a Hindi word written in English script. It means ‘Iron’). About 169,000 plus such implements were collected. It was an unprecedented act. The collected iron was either melted and used in the statue or, displayed at the centre along with the replicas of used ones. It unifies the country at the grass root levels as the average man feels a part of the effort. The result is clearly seen in the fact that domestic tourist is thronging to the see the statue from all over the country. And people have to wait for sometime before they are able to get in. It may not be out of place to mention that the message of unity will not be lost on a British paper. The British had left the country in shambles in 1947 at the time of partition. They gave the option to some 562 princely states to chart their own political future or merge with any of the newly created countries. A disastrous act. It took an astute politician like Sardar Patel to navigate the political minefield with some deft moves and visionary policy to get the princely states merged into India.

The United States Consul-General in India, Mr. Edgard Kagan visited the Statue and spent time taking an expansive view of the place from the viewing gallery at a height of 153 meters. He had the following comments to offer:

"The statue is very impressive and I'm happy to learn the purpose behind its construction" Kagan said after the visit. “The statue is a tribute to Sardar Patel's role in getting 562 princely states to accede to the Indian Union after Independence”.

It is no wonder the Editorial Board of a British financial daily would consider the expense of building a statue to honor Sardar – Statue of Unity - as squandering away of resources.

The Statue has tremendous potential for generating tourist revenue and for generating employment and business activity related to tourism. These are not mere words but the available data supports the statement.

• The Statue of Liberty (USA) generates about $250 million plus revenue (approx. 4.5 million visitors). The Spring Temple Budha (China) generates about $ 200 million revenue (approximately 3.9 million visitors). As per official figures released by the spokesperson of the Statue project, in Dec 2018 (one month after the inauguration) the Statue is seeing a daily footfall of 30,000 visitors. At this rate, it works out to almost 10 million visitors annually. One can directly see the comparison. The Statue of Liberty with annual visitor numbers around 4.5 million when it has been in existence for almost 130 years plus (It was dedicated to the nation in 1886). It would also be appropriate to keep in mind that the biggest attraction in India, Taj Mahal, attracts almost 8 million plus visitors annually. There is no reason why Statue of Unity will not attract similar number of visitors in years to come. Especially when foreign tourists start to visit the statue in near future.

• In addition to direct revenue generation, the Statue will have an impact on local economy when the entire area gets developed as a tourist destination. It will have good employment potential directly as well as through supporting tourist-related business activities such as transportation, eateries, shopping, guides, entertainment, etc.

• As part of the project, a research center is also being developed where research will be carried out on subjects that were close to the heart of Sardar Patel – Agriculture, good governance, water management, tribal development. These will go a long way in modernizing Indian agriculture and raise agriculture productivity overall and introducing sound governance practices.

• Finally, we should not forget the project being of international standards, and, being the tallest statue in the world, it will have a significant impact on National Pride. The positive feeling is already visible among people when they talk about the Statue and the feat achieved by Indian engineers and project managers with proactive support from government officials.

In wake of all that has been analyzed and discussed above including the various data points, only a prejudiced mind can draw a conclusion that investment in building the statue is squandering away money and that there are no or little benefits to the society.

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