Reason: Delhi and Mumbai are merely the geographical termination points of the corridor. The corridor’s largest land stretches are in Rajasthan (39 percent) and Gujarat (38 percent).
Gujarat will hit the jackpot: It’s got the ports (41 of them), the land, the infrastructure and the policies to milk the DMIC cow when it arrives on the scene.
In short, the biggest beneficiary of the UPA decision on DMIC will be its arch-enemy: Narendra Modi and Gujarat.
Why? Because only Modi has had the vision to position Gujarat right under the udders of the DMIC milch cow. The DMIC – if it lives up to the goals of its dreamers – will mark a strategic shift in India’s development strategy and goals and Gujarat has grasped that before the rest. Here’s why.
One, execution of the DMIC successfully will mean abandonment of our rose-tinted view of rural development and village economics and going the whole hog for urbanisation-led growth. Goodbye Gandhi, hello Nehru and Ambedkar. Gujarat is already 43 percent urban. By Census 2021, and helped by the DMIC, it will be more than 50 percent urban. India is currently 31.2 percent urban.
Two, DMIC will mean the creation of new planned cities and manufacturing centres that will challenge the dominance of Mumbai and Delhi – though the latter will remain the political power centre. Gujarat is right in the middle of it all – close to commercial Mumbai, and far enough from Delhi’s political machine.
Three, DMIC will mean shifting urban decision-making powers from elected municipalities to a corporate structure where a CEO-like figure runs the new urban centres that will come on either side of the DMIC trunk routes. Under Modi, Gujarat Inc is essentially run like a corporation.
Four, political power will shift from rural to urban areas as DMIC prompts major migrations and increase the voting clout of urban areas.
Five, it will create new winners and losers among states. States that re proactive in developing policies built around the DMIC’s potential will walk away with the jobs and investments. Gujarat bids fair to be the No 1 DMIC beneficiary.
Six, DMIC, which is to be funded with Japanese help and expertise, will be India’s first major effort to build a Chinese kind of mega-capability in infrastructure. Gujarat is the only Indian state with China’s growth record. During 2005-10, it grew 11.3 percent – far above the Indian average of 8.5-9 percent.
So what is the DMIC dream really about?
The DMIC’s vision is that jobs and manufacturing prowess are built around the ability to move people and goods efficiently – with related infrastructure. So at the heart of the DMIC are two core investments – a high-speed dedicated railway freight corridor, a six-lane expressway with no red lights, three ports and six airports.
Around this transport axis will be built nine mega industrial clusters of 200-250 square km each, power plants, industrial estates, residential colonies, and related social infrastructure like schools, hospitals, and recreation facilities.
Look out for More on this in the future....
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