Green capitalism

The key word in the deliberations was the emphasis on a "regenerative" economy, as opposed to a "degenerative" one based on fossil fuels and outmoded notions of industrialisation. In Datye's view, the 73rd constitutional amendment is a vital step forward. He bases his alternative development paradigm on the gram sabha, the smallest unit of self-governance in the village. If one unit in a village consisted of 100 households, the first task was to demarcate its boundaries, including common lands, and to evaluate its resource base. The objective is to establish what entitlement such a unit has to that most previous resource -- water.

The village as a whole, typically, may consist of 400 households. The area suitable for producing crops and biomass (organic matter) may be 800 hectares, while the village would have a watershed extending over 1,000 hectares. After meeting these vital needs, there would be sufficient land available for irrigated commercial crops, dryland cultivation, pastures, grass, shrubs and trees. The average availability of water would be estimated by adding up the surface water, groundwater as delayed run-off and groundwater storage. Half this water, in a regenerative economic model, would be allocated to a 100-household gram sabha for priority use.

But, as has been pointed out time and again in any discussion on rural society, it is far from being homogeneous. Caste and class intervene at every stage to make any equitable distribution of natural resources that much more complicated. This is why Datye and his acolytes refer to the "resource poor" among villagers who, again typically, may comprise 20-40 households out of the 100 in a gram sabha. These are jobless artisans, nomadic and denotified tribes, destitute women and project-affected people awaiting resettlement. They are also entitled, as a priority, to water for domestic use and their cattle.

Proponents of this approach recognise the need to boost land productivity without resorting to capital- and resource-intensive inputs. They believe that this can be achieved by boosting the production of biomass, celebrated in Datye's book Banking on Biomass. This is radically different from the environmentally destructive production of ethanol and biofuels throughout the world, almost all of which either divert land from food crops or are dependent on expensive inputs.

A fifth of the area available for a 100-household unit could be used to grow wood, bamboo and fibre. Around 15% could be devoted to what is known in foresters' jargon as "non-timber forestry". Foodgrain would comprise a fifth, as would sweet sorghum, pulses and fodder 10%, and 4% devoted to organic vegetables. Nitrogen-fixing varieties could be grown on another 10%. The output would be over 1,100 tonnes of biomass a year. Such a gram sabha would be entitled to preferential employment assistance under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, which entitles a person to 100 days of paid work in a year.

K J Joy, who with Suhas Paranjpye is a close associate of Datye's, breaks down these figures and arrives at a scenario where a poor family of five would produce 18 tonnes of biomass a year. In addition, it would produce 3 tonnes of surplus biomass "for value-addition -- the basis for a transition to a dispersed industrial system". This surplus consists of fruits, vegetables and other high-value agricultural produce, which is perishable. Instead, other produce like bamboo, fibres, oils or medicinal plants are a valuable alternative. Such an option, it should be noted, is in direct contrast to Special Economic Zones (SEZs), which represent a highly concentrated, egalitarian form of virtual forced industrialisation.

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