In light of youths angry with their ideas for the country being ignored, Fadnavis to hold exhibition on Maharashtra Day to give students an opportunity for presenting their visions
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is expected to spend seven hours interacting with students today
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Generation Y, especially college students, it seems haven't been happy with the way things are being run. Complaints have been coming in from youths that the policies that impact the country and states don't reflect their out-of-the-box ideas and aspirations.
They feel that policymakers - politicians and bureaucrats - are taking them for granted and arriving at decisions that have a genesis in closed-door discussions with only those in power participating, the ones who rely extensively on PowerPoint presentations and inputs provided on paper rather than on-the-ground experience.
When brains storm
In Maharashtra, however, things are set to be different as far as devising ways to transform the state are concerned. For the first time, the government will celebrate Maharashtra Day today - 57 years after it came into being - in a novel manner.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will present a model of 'Transforming Maharashtra: Vision 2025' based on 11 subjects that 12,500 students from 654 colleges in 82 places across the state have deliberated on over the last six months. Other than Fadnavis, department secretaries and heads of government agencies working in industry and infrastructure will interact with the students. Top-notch industrialists, including Ratan Tata, and experts in various fields will spend quality time with the participants, who will display their best ideas at an exhibition at the National Sports Club of India (NSCI) in Worli.
The massive scale on which the programme is being conducted since last December can be imagined, as 2,315 ideas have been voted for by 6 lakh people, including sectoral experts. The concepts are related to employment generation through industrial development, creating wealth from agriculture development, education in rural areas, drought mitigation, cleanliness and many other topics.
We are not sure what this event will produce in terms of having a result-oriented impact on our policymaking, but we should appreciate that Fadnavis has been able to conceptualise a meaningful programme and coincide it with the state's foundation day. The opposition may term it as just another do, and say that the BJP creates an event out of anything. But students should be happy to be part of a conclave that gives them a platform to showcase their talent and express their thoughts. Fadnavis will connect with the students, which his party is cultivating as a long-term vote bank, as well as future leadership with the revival of college elections.
The other side
While this event happens in a friendly atmosphere in Mumbai, a hostile section of youths is raising questions elsewhere, on the ground and through social media, over issues relating to sectors that students, politicians, babus and experts will deliberate on.
This angry youth is a college student or a dropout. He is searching for a job opportunity after completing education or attempting to be an entrepreneur. This youth is a farmer's daughter, who is deeply worried if her father will be able to find a match for her, or whether she should just end her life to save him from further financial duress. This youth is a landless labourer toiling hard in scorching heat.
While participants at the NSCI expect the government to accept their ideas and promise to take home wise words from people they admire, a resentful lot expects the CM to get his act together and tutor his cabinet teammates to ideate on their own and work expeditiously to resolve problems. Naturally, if Fadnavis is not seen taking corrective action, he will be solely blamed for bad crisis management.
For example, a mess that some ministers made in procuring tur is alarming. A senior minister couldn't even differentiate between raw tur and its refined product, used for cooking. It is surprising that agriculture, marketing, and food and civil supplies departments didn't plan in advance, when estimates stated that Maharashtra alone would produce half the country's total yield this season, after facing an acute shortage and spiralling prices last year.
It is time that Fadnavis, who should be under pressure to deliver as much in short time despite winning all elections for the BJP since 2014, weeded out showpieces in the system he heads. This is appraisal time, Mr CM.
Dharmendra Jore is political editor,mid-day. He tweets @dharmendrajore. Send your feedback to mailbag@mid-day.com
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