The Hindu : For Delhi's jobless, it certainly isn't shining

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Mar 21, 2004

National

National - Elections 2004

For Delhi's jobless, it certainly isn't shining

It is not rosy picture; there are more than 11 lakh registered unemployed people in the Capital.

Sujay Mehdudia

NEW DELHI

Duleep Kumar from Sitamarhi in Bihar holds a Masters of Arts degree in Hindi from the University of Delhi, which he earned five years ago. Unable to find a job matching his educational qualifications, Duleep now works in a telephone booth at Shakarpur in East Delhi at a meagre salary. `India Shining' means nothing to Duleep Kumar and people like him. Questioning the NDA Government's claim that nearly one crore jobs had been created per annum during the past five years, he asks: "Where are the jobs? In truth, opportunities have declined."

The story of Ravi Kumar from Jahanabad district in Bihar is no different. A graduate, Ravi works with a courier company and gets paid in proportion to the number of letters he distributes every day. "The feel good factor is only for big politicians, industrialists and rich people. It is not for people like us," he says, adding: "I came to Delhi as there was no scope to earn a livelihood in my State. Agriculture is in a bad shape. You cannot do any business because of the law and order problem. But it is even more difficult to survive here."

That's how bad thing are round here. Yet, just a few years ago, Delhi was considered an `economic magnet'. A person coming from outside could immediately get some kind of a job here. Today, that is no longer the case with few job opportunities presenting themselves.

The Government is on a downsizing spree and hundreds of industrial units, both large and medium scale, have closed down for various reasons. The cut in jobs across the board has forced migrant labour to look for opportunities elsewhere. Things have gotten so bad that the marginalised among them survive either by doing odd jobs or going around the streets of the Capital with a begging bowl in their hands.

It is not a rosy picture where employment is concerned. According to official estimates of the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO), the total number of unemployed people in Delhi stood at around 5.69 lakhs during the 1999-2000 period. However, according to the latest figures, in a population of 1.40 crore, there are more than 11 lakh unemployed registered with the employment exchanges in the Capital.

Nearly 42 per cent of the people registered in the Delhi employment exchanges were migrants from outside.

Another interesting aspect is the declining number of voters on the electoral rolls of Delhi during the past five years. In the 1999 Lok Sabha polls, the total number of voters stood at 87.5 lakhs.

However, this figure reduced to 82 lakhs during the 2002 MCD polls. It rose to 84 lakhs in the 2003 Assembly polls and now stands at 87.3 lakhs.

The decline since the 1999 polls is attributed to the exodus of labourers and workers from Delhi because of the closure of a large number of industrial units.

Mirroring the closures of industrial units, the Delhi Government has also decided to downsize its workforce. The Administrative Reforms Department has set up sub-committees to identify surplus posts as well as those that can be abolished. Some 154 such posts have not been filled up and fresh recruitments are at a standstill.

Indeed, there is widespread dissatisfaction because of the declining employment opportunities.

Jayant and his two brothers, both graduates, residing at R. K. Puram Sector-XII in South Delhi have been distributing newspapers for the past two years. "We have appeared for more than 20 competitive examinations and interviews during the last two years.

The problem is that there are more than 30 persons on an average for each post," rues Jayant.

As a result, Jayant and his brothers, who hail from Allahabad, have been reduced to selling bread and eggs in an illegally occupied corner of one of the local markets. "This is the only place from where we can earn some money. I cannot even buy a shop. It costs several lakhs in Delhi," he laments.

Mukesh, who works as a conductor in a city bus, questions the social security system of the Government: "We do not have any social security. Leave aside the salary, which is just a third of what a DTC conductor makes, I work 16 hours a day seven days a week with no leave; I sleep in the bus in every night. If I fall ill, I may be thrown out of the job and someone else could replace me. My employer will not give me any compensation. All this is the result of the privatisation which is being pursued by the Government."

Says Ranjeet Abhigyan, a CPI (ML) leader: "Statistically Delhi is one of the least unemployed regions of the country. However there is disguised unemployment here, which has increased during the past few years."

He points to the recent incidents in Assam, Bihar and Maharashtra, and warns that it might lead to social unrest nationwide.

"Unable to deliver the goods, they have coined the slogan of `India Shining'. They should know unemployment is a time bomb waiting to explode any moment."

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