The Downside of Economic "Growth"

This is the image attached along with the anchor article in the Times of India dated July 25, 2007.

It is titled "This village has a 1000 crorepatis". It is about a village whose main occupation till recently was to grow paddy n sell it. That is, until Delhi property prices rose & real estate developers came along & offered these farmers prices which would mean income of the next 2 generations selling paddy in one shot.

Who would refuse such a deal. i wouldn't. They didn't either. So, the property is sold, crores made, lifestylr upgraded accordingly.

This is evident from the report which says the following:

Two years ago, Radadhana in Sonepat district, about 50 km north-west of Delhi, was a paddy-growing village where bullock carts jostled for space on dusty tracks. The tracks are still dusty, but today Skodas, Hondas, Endeavours and a range of SUVs jostle for parking space. The homes, once made of bricks fired at the local kiln, are now gone. They have been replaced with hurriedly constructed and often garishly painted three-storey mansions fitted with ACs.

Gone are the kurta-pyjamas in which the farmers would loll about in the off-harvest months. Now, they are sharply dressed and strut around in their branded jeans.

Now, this is the 4th or 5th such TOI article i've read in the last 3 months. Land which the farmers use for agriculture is being bought off & used to build BPO centres, malls & offices. Agriculture is discontinued. Yes, this is Economic growth. The Rupee output per unit of that land will rise exponentially. But what about the decrease in food output. The newspaper, surprisingly, fails to bring out this side of the story & publishes the whoel article in "India Shining" mode

India is a predominantly agricultural economy. Industrialisation is welcome, but surely not at the cost of food production.

Our progress & so called Economic Growth does not have a sound foundation & one day it will all come crashing down.

Land which can be used for is is currently being used for agriculture is being developed into building complexes. Water shortage is already a problem and this will aggravate it. Electricity is demanded more than it can be supplied. This will skew the ratio even more. Food has not been a problem till now. It's only a matter of time before it too is.

So, there is acute water shortage, acute Electricity shortage & shortly, acute food shortage. Nice.

Growth ? Economic Development ?