Corridor Development in India

Impact on Land Acquisition

Vinita Yadav, Rohini Neelkanthrao Kalambe

• Verlag: Routledge India
• Jahr: 2022
• ISBN:
  9781000534900
• Auflage: 1
• Thema: Architettura
• Thema: Architettura generale

This book discusses the nuances of corridor development in India and its implications on land acquisition and displacement. It explores the complexities of land related conflicts and its socio-economic impacts on people's lives.

Examining the evolution of a few corridors of national importance like the Mumbai-Nagpur Expressway, Yamuna Expressway, Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, and Pune-Mumbai Expressway, the volume provides a comprehensive understanding of the dynamics of corridor development and regional growth. The book discusses how policies relating to land acquisition result in political, economic, legal and psychological hardships. The authors, using primary and secondary data, assess the socio-economic implications of land-acquisition on agriculture, employment, environment, demography, and land utilization along the regions touching these corridors. The work further discusses sustainable interventions in land acquisition practices to ensure equity of land and resources for vulnerable communities.

The book will be useful for students and researchers of public policy, development studies, economics, urban and regional development studies and sociology. It will also be of interest to academicians, regional planners, and those working in the field of land development, resettlement and rehabilitation.

1 Transport corridor and its sustainable impact

DOI: 10.4324/9781003044437-1

Background

India has struggled for food, clothing, and shelter from the historic era. From the Paleolithic (500000 to 10000 bc) to Neolithic (7500 to 3500 bc) era, men were not engaged in trading and economic contribution. In the mid-Neolithic era, man became engaged in agriculture. In the bronze and iron eras, markets and trade had started. In the 21st century, the production of goods and services along with their export and import through means of transport has gained importance worldwide. In India, around 10 million people are directly employed, and about 5 percent of the increase in gross domestic product (GDP) is due to the transport sector (Querol, 2014).

Trade routes have arisen in the places where production activities and commercial practices take place since ancient history. Occasional commodities such as salt or spices were only available in certain locations and were the biggest drivers of trade networks. Spices are mentioned because the need for transportation has arisen from their export and import. This helped to transform and promote cultural exchange, religion, and knowledge. For example the Silk Road, a very ancient route linking the majority of the civilization of Rome and China. The route has been used to exchange wool, silver, and gold. It also became a path of knowledge and technology and religion and art. The trading centers in Uzbekistan, along the route, also became important centers of intellectual exchange.

The marine paths linking east to west were the spice routes. On this route, goods such as cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg were shipped to Europe. In the late 15th century, North Africa and Arabic-speaking countries gained access to the middle East’s market. The reason was the extreme cost of spices. In the 15th to 17th centuries, due to new navigation technology and the age of exploration, the long distance was reduced. To create trade relationships with Indonesia, China, and Japan, Europeans took to the sea. The trade of spices from modern-day Indonesia became a source of profit to the Dutch and English. At that time nutmeg and cloves were only found in areas known as Moluccas and Spice Island. A new route was identified for incense sticks, frankincense, and myrrh, which are found only in Yemen and Oman. The raw material needed for the production of incense is myrrh which is obtained from trees with sap and dried in the sun to be used for various religious rites. Camels were used in 1000 bce to export and import incense from Arab countries to the Mediterranean along with all the important trade hubs. Frankincense and myrrh became important commodities for the Romans, Greeks, and Egyptians.

About 3000 bce, amber was traded to Egypt, Rome, the Baltics, etc., with archaeological evidence of amber beads from the Baltics found in Egypt. Romans are believed to have valued the stones and used them for decorative and medicinal purposes. They created the amber road linked to the Baltics and Europe. The Tea Horse Road was the ancient route of 6,000 miles from India’s Hengduan Mountain, China, and Tibet. The road crosses a number of rivers which make the route more dangerous. The commodities that passed through this route were tea from China and horses from Tibet. Traders were interested in this route for the direct trade of tea and horses.

These routes and commodities have created the significance of that particular area, and the route became prominent for those commodities. There are again several routes such as the salt route, trans-Saharan trade route, etc., which are also ancient routes to carry goods such as preserved foods, antiseptics, minerals, gold, clothes, etc. In ancient times, the trade routes became more effective for the export and import of material as per the purpose and demand of the region. The delays, cost, and other hurdles to transport the commodities to destinations were not calculated during the delivery of material. The evolution from animals to cart to vehicle became important evolutionary factors in trade history. The new routes and technology are way beyond the imagination and time plays a significant role to fast track the deliverables. Earlier the commodities were fewer but in today’s world each and every commodity is taken to different parts of the world. Efficient, cost-effective roads requiring less travel time are being constructed in order to help the commodities to reach their destinations on time.

The earth has significant resources. America is known for coal, timber, copper, gold, etc., and Brazil is the eighth largest oil producer. Russia exports rare earth minerals, whereas the coal reserves of India are the fourth largest in the world. Coal based industries contribute 11 percent to India’s GDP (Anthony, 2019). The question arises: Why are we discussing the above characteristics of other countries? The resources on earth are exported to different parts of the world through means of travel. It is pertinent to understand how industrial production and the contribution of resources help to boost the world’s and nations’ economic development. Trade happens through different modes such as airways, roadways, railways, and waterways. All the natural and administrative barriers are to be crossed by one specific mode to cross the boundary of a nation. To achieve an efficient transport system, every nation has its own collection units, factories, hubs, logistic parks, and ports engaged in export and import. This helps to maintain the inventory and distribution of material from all types of travel modes. There are different types of corridors, which serve different purposes, and an economic corridor leads to the prosperity of the region.

Characteristics of corridors

Economic corridors connect economic growth rates, along with a specific geography. They are a connection point in the economic network of nodes or hubs for the concentration of economic resources and items. They are related to the awareness of supply and demand in the market. Corridors are not all the same; they have different properties. These economic corridors are not only for the transport connections but also for people and goods to move along the corridor. The integrity is maintained by the economic fabric and actors surrounding it. The analysis of economic benefit is not simply in isolation but also takes into account the integration of economic networks such as regional and global value chains and the production by networks. There are key challenges to designing and implementing the corridor. The corridor helps to bridge the divided geography, develop regional markets, build flexibility in the face of interruptions of movement of economic resources, balance the growth and income distribution, etc. This helps to create inclusive development in the region. There are three major characteristics, i.e. structural characteristics, network and geographical cohesion characteristics, and accessibility characteristics of regional corridors (Brunner, 2013).

Structural characteristics include the industrial structure, trade, and export composition.

Any type of trade requires expert knowledge of export and investment in fixed cost. Many exporters and traders have knowledge and skills of the new markets and their features. It is important to understand the essential viable structure and ecology for successful economic development. It increases the competition and innovation in the field of study and enhances the rapid growth of the region. High income group exporters have better experience in tackling the complexities along the corridor because they have experience in investing in complex products among exporters. Corridor development will help to increase the capital and grow the economy.

For example we can take the agricultural production movements. Moving agricultural produce from one place to another along the global value chain is different than moving non-perishable goods. The movement of goods is determined from the labor productivity; however, the ratio of the unit cost of labor is calculated on a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis. The cost of labor is defined simply as the output per worker. But in trading, the cost of labor is dependent upon the quality of the workers’ output and also includes technical capacity, the product being produced, and exchange rate. Disadvantages of low capabilities can be income distribution in the region, trade network, and agglomeration effect. To improve the capacities, monitoring, and evolution of transport corridors, these aspects have to be examined for inclusive development. To enhance the competitiveness in the lagging areas, it is important to induce structural change by providing or building a physical corridor in the region.

Geography and trade networks are two major cohesive aspects that improve the specific geography of the region. Demand and supply of the market depend upon and majorly influence the population and its density, occupation pattern, and in and out migration for economic activities. Hausmann and Klinger (2006) developed the region according to population and trade diversification considering the value chain. Pula and Peltonen (2009) identified the 21 future diversification complexities through technology and input output relation. The projection of trade and transformation has been analyzed by inter- and intra-regional trade compositions and economic models of that region. It is essential for regional economic and trade integration. Intramodular connectivity established the network and linkage of trade routes to the outside world. This links the local to the global; hence the transit link is important to enhance the regional connectivity worldwide.

Trade expansion can be achieved by diversification in export, the expansion of trade, investment in attractive companies with productive capacities, economic growth, and most importantly the eradication of poverty. Land-based economic corridors need transit agreements between two or more countries, i.e. countries should export more products in more sectors. If the exported product is more complex than the global product, we shall have to acquire production capabilities and increase the capacity by coordinating more input and service providers. These input or service-based companies shall be required to gain and maintain the market accessibilities for their growth. The accessibility also required the market to invest in export capabilities and ecology. This methodology will also be beneficial to small and medium-sized enterprises to grow for exports.

In 2020, $300 billion of capital and consumer goods were imported by India. If the goods are produced in India itself then massive job opportunities would be created and investments could be made. Here, corridors are playing the role of catalyst because the allocation of resources and infrastructural spending to get products to specific geographical areas can be achieved by creating manufacturing clusters and ancillary industries along the industrial corridor. These corridors are well connected by all means of transport, i.e. air, water, road, and rail. Industrial corridors can also attract more talent from the societies and create 100 million targeted jobs (Naval and Kaushik, 2016). In India, industrial corridors and national investment and manufacturing zones (NIMZs) are planning to install mega projects and futuristic vehicles of economic growth. The installation of these kinds of projects needs a policy framework, visualization, planning, and execution for its success. Lessons should be learnt from the already installed projects and best reviewed designs to avoid future losses. While designing competitive strategies or spending programmes, mind mapping techniques shall be diverted towards structural reforms. Structural reforms may include the modernization of administrative and public policy, business atmosphere, the importance of companies, and innovating an...