Poverty and lack of infrastructure - Denial of 'Right to Life'

The classic view that poverty is a shortage of income has proved to be dissatisfactory because an exclusively income centred view misses many important features in the causation of poverty. Poverty is not merely material deprivation and a low material standard of life including poor health indicators, but also deprivation in relation to education, culture and basic infrastructure facilities such as roads. Inefficient provision and maintenance of infrastructure and basic services is a major constraint to economic growth in developing countries.

Amartya Sen has defined poverty as deprivation of a person’s effective freedom to live the way s/he has reason to want to live. If the concept of freedom is used to define poverty then various other things such as democratic and legal set up also play a major role in reducing poverty. Extreme poverty is denial of human rights because poverty is a socially constructed phenomenon. The poor are not poor simply because they are less human or because they are physiologically or mentally inferior to others whose conditions are better off.

Therefore, Sen’s view of poverty cannot be tackled through income transfers and employment programmes alone. Infact, poverty in this context is inseparable from the constitutional right to life. The scope of the article 21 of our constitution which deals with the protection of life and personal liberty has been expanded over the last 50 years and life and liberty now include education, health and even roads in hilly areas. For residence on hilly areas, access to road is access to life itself.

An interesting case related to human rights, poverty and provision of basic infrastructure to the citizens is the case of Umed Ram Sharma vs the State of Himachal Pradesh. In the year 1977, during the construction of the Ghanna- Hatti-Bhukho road (length 5 km) in district Simla construction was abruptly stopped at 3/060 kms because of obstruction. Thereafter the work had been resumed once or twice in a half hearted manner but it could not be completed, due to lack of funds since a sum of Rs. 40,000/- allocated during the financial year 1984-85 for the construction of this road had already been fully utilised. Residents of nearby villages, addressed a letter to the Chief Justice of the High Court complaining:
(i) That they had been totally deprived of the road facility;
(ii) That they had to go to the city after negotiating steep ascent of 4/5 miles and only after such a strenuous effort they were able to establish contacts with the city; and
(iii) That democracy was meaningless to them. In those circumstances, they prayed for court's intervention and action on this behalf.

The High Court treated the letter as a writ petition and after receiving reply from the State Government; it found that the people of the area were denied the benefit of the use of the road in a contiguous length and that some remedial action was expedient in the public interest. The High Court also recorded the statement of the Superintending Engineer that there was no reason why the road could not be constructed gradually onwards and that during the financial year to make the road serviceable an expenditure of about Rs. 90,000/- would be necessary and as against this requirement under the budget allocation, a sum of Rs. 40,000/- had been set apart for the purpose of widening the road. The High Court directed:

(1) That the Superintending Engineer of the PWD should proceed with the construction of the road and to complete the same during the course of the current financial year;

(2) that the Superintending Engineer should make an application to the State Government demanding additional sum of Rs.50,000/- being sanctioned for the construction of the said road;

(3) That the State Government should favourably consider the demand of the Superintending Engineer.

Therefore, it is high time that a broader interpretation of the concept of poverty is accepted and the provision of basic infrastructure services such as roads and safe drinking water to the citizens of India is regarded as the utmost responsibility of Indian Government.