Haryana must turn away from self defeating nativist plank

Haryana must turn away from self defeating nativist plank

Haryana assembly’s passage of a bill reserving 75% jobs with a monthly starting salary under Rs.50,000 for locals is a giant step backwards. The state, especially its Gurgaon-Manesar belt, has benefitted from its proximity to Delhi, with companies of all sorts setting up shop in the state despite inadequate locally available skilled manpower. These companies were betting on migrants moving to Haryana via Delhi in the immediate neighbourhood and those bets have proven right.

Haryana’s proposed law, yet to receive the governor’s assent, could throw all this into jeopardy. Even during the migrant exodus crisis following lockdown imposition it was evident how much industrial belts like Gurgaon, Faridabad and Panipat rely on migrant workers. Turning off the taps on their availability could see wages rise and discourage more companies from investing in Haryana. The prospector of labour inspector raj also looms large at a time when labour reforms are moving in the direction of self certification.

Obviously, the regional politics of Haryana is at play here. The bill has been piloted by BJP’s ally JJP which had made this a campaign promise. For BJP, which rules most of the Hindi heartland and is the loudest proponent of the nationalist plank, such laws that carve India into sub-nationalist domains being formalised under its own governments, isn’t a good sign. More so when the central government is aggressively wooing foreign investors, with promises of ease of doing business and policy stability. Haryana must rethink such laws and instead capitalise on its biggest advantage — proximity to Delhi — and woo more companies. Complaining of slums and environment degradation because of migration is an admission of governance failure. It should not become the reason for spurning investment.