Bridge Punjab’s district divide through local development

THOUGH the Punjab economy is one of the popular areas of research among scholars, district economies have not found much favour among them despite the growing emphasis on district-level development. The two schemes of the Central government which aim to make the district a nodal unit of development are the 'aspirational district' and 'district as fulcrum of development' programmes.

The purpose of the aspirational district programme is to develop the most underdeveloped districts of India. Moga and Ferozepur from Punjab have been covered under this scheme. The ‘district as a fulcrum of development’ programmes emphasises the bottom-up approach. It recognises that local needs can be met more effectively by making the district a hub of planning and development. Amritsar has been selected as a pilot district under this model.

The Punjab government periodically constitutes district planning boards to formulate district development plans. However, most have hardly prepared any plan.

A district-level study assumes additional importance in the light of the possibility of the carving out of Anandpur Sahib as the 24th district of Punjab to mark the 350th martyrdom day of Sri Guru Teg Bahadur. This article assesses district-level economic development based on the share of a district’s income in the state and the per capita district income for 2020-21, the year for which the latest data is available.

Ludhiana, with a district income of Rs 62,997 crore in 2011-12, emerged as the largest district economy during 2020-21. It contributed 15.47 per cent to the state income. The other four top-ranking districts are Jalandhar (9.02 per cent), Amritsar (7.96 per cent), Patiala (6.84 per cent) and Sangrur (6.59 per cent). Nearly half of the state income originated from these districts.

The bottom five districts are SBS Nagar (2.29 per cent), Mansa (2.25 per cent), Barnala (2.10 per cent), Faridkot (2.03 per cent) and Pathankot (1.83 per cent). Together, they contributed only 10 per cent to the state income, much below the share of Ludhiana alone.

The structure of the economy (sectoral composition of district income), population and geographical area of the district have played a pivotal role in shaping its economic might. Ludhiana’s economic structure showed that the combined share of the secondary and tertiary sectors in the district income was 87 per cent. In the other economically powerful districts, except Sangrur, the share of non-agricultural sectors in the district economy was 77 per cent and above.

In contrast, in the bottom districts, the share of agriculture and allied sectors (primary sector) in the district income predominated. Except SBS Nagar, the share of the primary sector in the district income was 30 per cent and above. In Mansa district, the share was the highest (44 per cent).

Ludhiana was the most populous district in 2020-21. Its 40 lakh population comprised 12.74 per cent of the state's population. The other four top ranking districts in terms of population were Jalandhar (7.75 per cent), Amritsar (9.08 per cent), Patiala (7.15 per cent) and Sangrur (5.88 per cent). The share of each bottom district in the state's population was less than 3 per cent, ranging from 2.02 per cent in SBS Nagar to 2.32 per cent in Pathankot.

A similar pattern emerged with regard to the geographical area. Ludhiana district, comprising 7.31 per cent of the state area, is the largest district. Pathankot, which has the lowest contribution to the state economy, is the smallest, with only 1.87 per cent area.

The per capita income is widely used to compare levels of development across countries and regions. Despite its limitations, it remains a reliable indicator of living standards of the people. In Punjab, the district-wise per capita income revealed interesting facts. Contrary to the popular perception that Ludhiana is the most developed district, it was Rupnagar — a quiet district — that topped, with Rs 1,67,395 per capita income. In fact, Rupnagar has been occupying the first position in this regard for the past eight years. Ludhiana, with Rs 1,57,296 per capita district income, emerged at the third position. This implies that, on an average, a resident of Rupnagar district enjoys a better standard of living as compared to Ludhiana district, which has sizeable slum population.

The second rank was occupied by SAS Nagar (Rs 1,60,390), followed by Jalandhar (Rs 1,50,882) and Fatehgarh Sahib (Rs 1,47,725). The bottom five districts were Mansa (Rs 1,06,954), Muktsar (1,03,525), Pathankot (Rs 1,02,119), Gurdaspur (Rs. 94,334) and Tarn Taran (Rs 89,323).

Of the remaining districts, six — SBS Nagar (Rs 1,46,827), Sangrur including Malerkotla (Rs 1,45,354), Kapurthala (Rs 1,45,338), Moga (Rs1,40,462) and Hoshiarpur (Rs 1,37,462) — had per capita incomes higher than that of the average of Punjab (Rs 1,29,591).

The per capita income of seven districts — Barnala (Rs 1,28,041), Patiala (Rs 1,24,059), Faridkot (Rs 1,19,982), Bathinda (Rs 1,14,090), Amritsar (Rs 1,13,622), Ferozepur (Rs 1,09,165) and Fazilka (Rs1,07,657) — was lower than the state average.

The inter-district variations in per capita incomes are mainly attributed to the structure of the economy. The five districts with high per capita incomes had a larger share of non-agricultural sectors in district income. It varied between 87% for Ludhiana and 74 % for Rupnagar. In the case of Rupnagar, the spillover effect of the Chandigarh-Mohali urban development belt, in the form of employment opportunities for the residents of Rupnagar district, also contributed towards its better economic well-being.

The bottom districts, except Gurdaspur, exhibited less than 70 per cent share in non-agriculture sectors. In the case of Mansa, it was the lowest (56 per cent). In simple terms, these districts are primarily agrarian districts.

Making the district planning boards more effective is crucial. It will help in preparing district plans, boosting investment in backward districts, covering more backward districts under Central programmes and diversifying economies of the less developed districts. This, in turn, will promote industrial and services activities that can reduce disparities and promote a balanced growth across Punjab.

BS Ghuman is former VC, Punjabi University, Patiala.