Author: cprindia

All through 2024, we have been doing extensive field-based research for the study titled “Forty Years’ Development Saga of Dhampur: Growth Dynamics and Regional Transformation Potential of an Indian Small Town.” This small town has gone through major transformations in several spheres over the four decades. One such area of change is abundant provision of medical services.

At the time of earlier study, Pushpa Pathak had observed that there were just a few doctors’ clinics. Even in the recent past, there were only 3 or 4 well known doctors practicing in Dhampur such as: Dr. Bagchi, Dr. Parikh, Dr. Lalin Khan and one Homeopathic doctor popularly known as Dr. Chawanni as he charged only 4 Annas for a consultation.

Currently, Dhampur is a small town of about 1 lakh population located in district Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh. Public health infrastructure in Dhampur includes a Primary Health Centre (PHC), Community Health Centre (CHC) and a 100 bed hospital that is not fully functional, However, these government centres provide limited medical services. At present 200-300 patients visit the Outpatient department (OPD) and 1-2 patients visit Inpatient Department (IPD) in CHC every day, but it has only one doctor and four beds, which is far lower than the norms for CHC. According to the Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS) Guidelines, a CHC should have 30 beds and 7 doctors specialising in Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Surgery, Paediatrics, Dental Care and AYUSH. 

The first striking feature pertaining to medical services is the surprisingly large number of private hospitals and clinics for a small town like Dhampur. Another striking fact is that most of the medical facilities are located along both sides of the Kalagarh Road, an east-west state highway in the Northern part of the town. The total number of private hospitals and clinics in Dhampur is around fifty, including Dental Care, of which 37 are located on the Kalagarh Road alone and rest of them are located in other parts of the town. In addition, there are 2 Homeopathic clinics and 16 diagnostic centres located in various parts of the town. 

All the private hospitals together in Dhampur have around 500 beds and 40 to 45 doctors catering to a very large number of patients. For example, 50 OPD and 5 to 7 IPD patients visit Damyanti Devi Nursing Home every day. It has 25 beds and 3 doctors. Durga City Hospital has 50 beds and 3 doctors and gets 20 to 25 OPD and 2 to 3 IPD patients daily. Clearly the ratio of doctors and beds to the number of patients in private hospitals is far better than in the government CHC. 

These facts obviously made us ask: Why are there so many private hospitals and clinics in Dhampur? Why are most of them clustered along a single road one after the other? Following are some of the explanations for these two questions: 

First, India has a large healthcare infrastructure dominated by the private sector, which is very common all over India. This is basically because most public health sector entities have limited facilities which are often of lower quality.

Second, there has been a tremendous surge in private hospitals due to the massive increase in the number of medical colleges and graduates. According to Dr. Kamaal Ahmad, there were only 9 medical colleges in Uttar Pradesh and around 1,000 doctors in 1981. Now there are about ten times more medical colleges and nearly 15,000 doctors.

Third, many of the doctors in Dhampur have rural roots. But, most of the doctors are educated in urban areas and are used to urban lifestyles. Hence, they prefer to practice in towns and cities.

Fourth, Dhampur is well connected with the national and state highways. The neighbouring 3 towns and 500-600 villages are completely dependent on Dhampur for most of the services including healthcare facilities. According to Dr. Aditya Agarwal, Nagina town, where he practiced earlier, is less accessible with weaker connectivity, less developed and has lower footfall in comparison to Dhampur.

Fifth, although most of the doctors have a business mindset, they are also involved in social service such as: campaigns to promote health, provide free consultation, medicine and 1/4th price of the required test for those who cannot afford it, as is done by both Dr. Ahmad and Dr. Agarwal. 

Sixth, Kalagarh Road acts as a central axis that ensures maximum visibility and easy accessibility for patients. Moreover, the clustering of private hospitals on Kalagarh Road suggests that in a competitive market, similar service providers tend to cluster in the same location to maximize access to customers and reduce risk as explained by the Hotelling Location Model (Harold Hotelling, 1929).

To sum up, a large number of private hospitals have come up in Dhampur clearly in response to the demand from the town and nearby villages. But the way they are established on Kalagarh Road, shows that competition might be shaping the choice of location of healthcare facilities.

Figure A: Estimated Share of Gross Domestic Product for ‘City-Regions’ (2022-23)

Figure A shows the relationship of the share of ‘city-region’ in the gross domestic product (GDP) with its population share. Kolkata is an outlier, as the only ‘city-region’ whose share in GDP is less than its share in population. For the ten ‘city-regions’, the aggregate share of ‘city-region’ domestic product in GDP was 21.1%, which is more than double that of its population share in 2011, which was 9.6%, reflecting the higher per capita domestic product, compared to the national average, associated with these large ‘city-regions’. Note that this is not all urban, as the ‘city-region’ as defined here, includes both urban and rural populations. 

But, unlike China, India does not estimate economic activity at the city level, except Delhi, which is a state-level entity, so, its gross state domestic product (GSDP) is available along with all other states. So, how was this ‘city-region’ domestic product generated? In this situation, the following simple but crude exercise was conducted.

There has been some effort to generate district domestic product estimates (DDP) but these vary widely by state, with some states providing recent updated estimates and others that have not provided estimates for over a decade. The top ten cities by population in 2011 were considered. Each of these ‘city-regions’ were associated with a district or set of districts (for Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata). The Appendix gives the details of the districts that each ‘city-region’ were associated with. For each of these districts (except Jaipur, for which the estimate was directly available), the 2022-23 DDP estimate was calculated in the following manner. For each district, the share of DDP to the state’s GSDP was calculated for the latest two years for which data was available (except the years 2020-21 and 2021-22, which were excluded due to the pandemic). The average share of these two years was then multiplied into the state’s GSDP for 2022-23 to generate the estimated DDP for 2022-23. For ‘city regions’ associated with only one district, the DDP is considered the domestic product for the ‘city-region’ and for ‘city regions’ associated with a set of districts, the sum of the DDP for those districts were taken as the estimate. The specific calculations are given in Appendix A.

Appendix A

 

ADDENDUM

Figure B: Estimated Share of Gross Domestic Product for ‘City-Regions’ (2022-23)

After the blog was put out on Thursday, I received feedback that it did not reflect the spatial spread of the metropolitan region boundaries for many cities. As mentioned earlier, this is a crude estimate, both in defining the city region and its share of GDP. Nevertheless, some adjustments have been made, viz. to Mumbai (including Thane and Raigad) and Kolkata (including Haora and Hugli) on the western bank of the Hooghly river and Bengaluru (including Ramanagara and excluding Tumakuru, which has its own urban development authority and is a smart city in its own right!). Other possible adjustments, e.g. in Hyderabad and Chennai, have not been made. Surat ‘city region’ is Surat district, not the five districts in the report of NITI Aayog. It is also clarified that the Pune ‘city-region’, i.e., district, includes both the Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal corporations.

A revised Figure B and Appendix B is provided. As can be seen, the broad pattern remains similar. For the ten ‘city-regions’, the aggregate share of ‘city-region’ domestic product in GDP was 23.9%, which is more than double that of its population share in 2011, which was 11.4%. For four cities (excluding Delhi), the share of the ‘city-region’ in the GSDP is quite high, almost at 40% or more for Hyderabad (47%), Kolkata (41%) and Bengaluru (40%) and fairly close for Mumbai (37%). All these cities are capitals of their states. Indeed, the Mumbai-Pune agglomeration accounts for almost half the GSDP of Maharashtra, among our most developed states. The other two capitals, Chennai and Ahmedabad, account for a quarter of their state GSDP and Jaipur, just under one-seventh. Surat and Pune are the only two non-capital cities.

Appendix B

 

For over half a century, the Centre for Policy Research has been at the heart of some of the most significant policy discourses in India.

From the Archives is an attempt to tell CPR’s history from its archival records and trace its journey. The series will revisit CPR’s research initiatives, publications, and interactions with national and global policymakers that have helped it mount the challenge of inclusive, actionable change.

CPR During 1984 – 88

The years of 1984-88 were marked by crucial turning points in India’s polity and the world at large. Northern India was engulfed in a series of anti-Sikh riots following Indira Gandhi’s assassination, and an agrarian crisis riddled the countryside. As for geopolitics, a protracted Cold War necessitated an ever-evolving foreign policy for a Non-Aligned country like India. Diplomatic ties with NAM nations—famously recovering from the ravages of colonialism—were crucial in this period.

During this time, CPR continued to develop research on the projects it had initiated in preceding years and introduced new areas of study in keeping with the times. The Centre pursued uninterrupted research on the themes of industrialisation, national integration and regional

cooperation in South Asia, and contributed to topical discourses of national importance with renewed energy. This research was communicated to the public through seminars, workshops, books, academic papers, surveys and newspaper articles.

Geopolitics

 

The Centre approached relationships between South Asian countries vis-à-vis the Superpowers in a manner that would protect the sovereignty and collective interests of India and its regional neighbours. To this end, CPR collaborated with the International Development Research Centre, Canada on a five-year-long research project. CPR also organised a SAARC-ASEAN cooperation workshop in New Delhi in 1987.

Banking and Economy

The State Bank of India instituted a Chair in International Banking and Economy at the Centre in 1984. The Chair grappled with crucial economic questions regarding the proposed establishment of Mumbai as an International Financial Centre, overseas operations of Indian banks and India’s foreign commercial borrowings.

The studies aimed to identify avenues for enhancing economic cooperation and trade potential within South Asia and between India and SouthWest Asia or the Persian Gulf.

 

Society and Politics

 

The Centre also conducted studies on sociological issues in India. The research on violence, with emphasis on communal violence and riots, examined the socio-economic and institutional factors behind violence and suggested policy changes to mitigate and avoid violent upheavals in India. Studies on reservation policies in the country were introduced during this time. The  research looked at the impact of reservations on the lives of Dalits and Adivasis (SCs/STs) and OBC communities, as well as the politics of anti-reservation movements in the country.

Food Security and Health

Two allied research areas, food security and health and nutrition policy, were also advanced. These studies remain relevant today. Research on food security looked at the endemic problems of rural poverty, unemployment, and sluggish growth in the agricultural sector, largely addressing the question of availability. Research on health policy dealt with qualitative and quantitative aspects of implementation to address the question of access.

Other Engagements

Senior Fellow Mr. B.G. Verghese led the Ganga-Brahmaputra-Barak Basin Project at the Centre, researching transboundary river water management and conflict resolution in the basin. CPR also continued its engagement with the themes of federalism and problems of governance in India.

Founder-Director Dr. V. A. Pai Panandikar led a survey on public administration supported by the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) covering the period from 1979 to 1988.

This is the second edition in this series. Stay tuned for more!

 

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On 11 April 2024, the Eid-ul-Fitr day, I along with my colleagues Shubham Kashyap and Aena Rawal happened to be in Dhampur while we were doing field work for our study titled Forty Years’ Development Saga of Dhampur: Growth Dynamics and Regional Transformation of an Indian Small Town. Since it was a public holiday and we did not have any meetings lined up, we decided to go to see the famous Najibabad fort popularly known as Sultana Daku ka Qila located around 45 kilometers away. The city and its fort were built by Nawab Najib-ud-Daulah around 1755. The East India Company called it Sultana Daku ka Qila as the dreaded dacoit was suspected of hiding in the fort.

We were staying at the Eurasia Palace Hotel, the only fancy hotel in town, which also has two multi-cuisine restaurants. We came down around 11.00 am and were surprised to see the hotel lobby jam packed, mostly with groups of muslim young men, few women’s groups and families. All these people were waiting to get into the Ambrosia Restaurant that was already full. As we navigated our way out of the crowd, we encountered even a larger number of people in the front lawn, some just taking selfies and group picture while others waiting to go in for lunch when their turn came. We saw the hotel manager and security staff busy controlling the crowds of people entering the property. When we talked to the much-harassed manager, he said he was charging an entry fee of Rs 300 per person as the only way of controlling the number of people coming in the hotel that day.

After about an hour’s drive, we reached the Najibabad fort and that too was in a festive mood, with street sides full of parked cars and motor bikes, crowds of people milling around in new clothes out for a day’s picnic, and hordes of vendors who reached there to make a quick buck by selling fruit, snacks and beverages. We looked totally out of place in this largely muslim community of revelers. People openly asked us who we were and where did we come from. When I told them that I am writing a book on the urbanisation and industrialisation of Dhampur, they were very impressed and respectful. In response to my question: why have they come here on this festive day rather than sticking to the normal practice of first going to the mosque for morning prayers, then visiting family and friends and eating loads of festive home-cooked delicacies like kebabs, biryani and sewanyana. They said they have done all that and now they want to hang out with friends but there are not many places where they can go to, other than going to restaurants that can be pretty expensive.

On our way back to Dhampur, we stopped for lunch at an upmarket highway eatery called Tularams Grand Restaurant, which is also a sweet shop well known for its gulab jamuns and rasgullas. And that too was full to the brim while people outside waited for tables to become free. There were also a few groups of boys and girls in pretty clothes some as young as 10 – 15 years of age with money in their hands, just to get gulab jamuns or ice creams. While we waited for our turn to get in, I learnt that all these people came from the nearby villages for a special Eid a treat at this restaurant.

This is what I could make of it at the end of the day as to why so many people were out there looking for some fun on Eid day:

First, the proportion of Muslim population in Bijnor District is much higher at about 43% than the state average of about 20%. Hence, their presence in public domain is much more visible in sheer numbers.

Second, the Eidy (the cash gift given by the elders to the children) has increased phenomenally from what used to be 10-20 to 100-200 Rupees per child, and multiplying it with the number of elders in the family, it could add up to be a pretty sum of 500 to 1000 rupees per young person. This is a clear indicator of change in the economic status and enhanced availability of disposable income in most families, not only in the cities but also in the villages.

Third, going out to eat is a major life style transformation that is sweeping many parts of India. Dhampur town and District Bijnor are no exceptions. We often found groups of students, often celebrating someone’s birthday, at 3-4 fairly pricey restaurants of the town where we went for lunch. Many of these students also commute daily from the neighboring villages to study in the prestigious schools and colleges of Dhampur.

Fourth, there are hardly any public places where young people can hang around to have a good time. The only options are about half a dozen pizza and fast-food restaurants in town that survive on young clientele frequenting them. There are also several well-known street food stalls in Bhagat Singh Chowk in the center of the town. The only place where young people and families can go without paying is the Chhatrapati Shivaji Municipal Park with an open gym, also located in the crowded town centre near the railway station and bus terminal. The other nearby places they visit on Eid day are Water Parks in Nehtaur and on Noorpur Road, and Ramganga Barage near Kalagarh Dam.  But this is possible only for those people who have personal mode of transport like cars and motorbikes.

Fifth, the Eurasia hotel opened in 2021 is the new status symbol and the most attractive place to visit, both for the town people as well as for the residents of the nearby towns and villages, even if it is just to take pictures or to share a plate of noodles between four-five friends.

It is clear from the above observations that small aspirational towns like Dhampur must create clean and safe recreational public places to cater to the needs particularly of the youth. In larger cities, there are several such options like parks, playgrounds, restaurants, markets and malls. In smaller towns, there is not enough volume of business for building malls. There is also no open land available within the densely populated town for any such place making. But, a few parks and shopping arcades with restaurants could certainly be incorporated, especially in the new private residential developments taking place in the periphery all around the town.

Left: Young men in front of the Sultana Daku ka Qila at Najibabad on Eid day, picture by Pushpa Pathak
Right: Young boys at the Eurasia Palace Hotel on Eid day, picture by Shubham Kashyap

The study, titled “Growth Dynamics and Regional Transformation Potential of Small Towns: 40 Years’ Development Saga of Dhampur, India,” is a repeat of Dr. Pushpa Pathak’s doctoral thesis, “Industrial Linkages and Regional Development: A Case Study of a Small Town, Dhampur,” conducted four decades ago. Dhampur, a small town located in the western Uttar Pradesh.

For the study we prepared four sets of surveys: an industrial unit survey, an entrepreneur survey, an industrial worker survey, and a rural household survey. Additionally we also had a set of interview questions for the government officials and prominent citizens of Dhampur and Bijnor. Fieldwork in Dhampur extended from February 2024 to December 2024.

The very first challenge we faced in common was skepticism as to why were we collecting such detailed information? We had to provide a full explanation, including the fact that Dr. Pushpa Pathak had done her Ph.D. thesis on Dhampur four decades earlier, why Dhampur was chosen in the first place, why a repeat survey was necessary, and how the information would be used. The idea of a book being published on Dhampur was appealing to some, but others questioned us about how the book would benefit them.

Despite the above challenges, when we met government officials, entrepreneurs and the prominent citizens they were very kind in sharing the information we needed and welcomed us warmly. Many of the entrepreneurs gave us their manufacturing products as gifts. For instance, when we visited a namkeen manufacturer, they offered us namkeen, ice cream manufacturers gave us ice cream, and iron pot manufacturers gifted kadhais. Some of them also offered us tea and snacks. They were very indeed hospitable and cooperative.

Difficulties in acquiring a current industry list and identifying the actual functioning industries

The only list of industries of Dhampur town and its surrounding 5km was dated back to 1979-80, that too was based on a primary a survey and not from any secondary source. To acquire a current list of industries in Dhampur, we first visited the District Industry Office in Bijnor. We requested for the current list of industries in Dhampur explaining the purpose of list.

• They mentioned they don’t have specific list of industries all they have the units which are registered on UDYAM and will provide that list.
• They said they would send it to us later that day, but unfortunately, they didn’t respond. We had to call them again and again, and finally, a few days later, they sent us a huge list of industries.
• We received three datasets covering the years 2020-2021, 2021-2022, and 2022-2023.
• It included 12,678 units for the district Bijnor.
• The datasheet contained extensive details of both industries as well as traders including: Reg. No, Enterprise Name, Owner Name, Incorporation Date, Commencement Date, Address, Pin code, District, State, Employment, Major Activity, Social Category, Gender, Organisation Type, Mobile No., Email Id, Investment Cost (In Rs.), Net Turnover (In Rs.), Enterprise Type, NIC 5 Digit Code, Latitude and Longitude.
• The details of latitude and longitude i.e., location of the unit were missing of each unit or else it would have been easy to identify the unit.
• We filtered the data based on their location through Pin code of Dhampur and further filtered the number of workers employed minimum 5 workers and their major activities i.e, manufacturing activities.
• This results in shorten of the data.
• Later we called each filtered unit and asked them what kind of product they manufacture and whether the unit fall in the radius of 5km from Dhampur town or not.
• During this process, we encountered several challenges, including negative responses from some contacts. For instance, one individual responded, “Hum garib hai, hume madad kijye”, while many disconnected the call, suspecting us to be representatives of the income tax department, GST department, labor department, or other government agencies.
• Additionally there were issues with multiple registrations, complicating the data further. Some units were registered under names of multiple family members and recorded as having only 4 to 5 workers. This practice is common in small-scale industries. Field verification revealed that these units were functioning as one unit and employed more workers than reported.
• Finally, we confirmed that there are 18 manufacturing units out of a long list of industries obtained from the UDYAM website.
• Out of these 18 units, many declined to be interviewed, and we were able to interview only 8 units.

We couldn’t rely on the given list. Then we visited electricity office of Dhampur, explained about the objectives of the study and we asked them for the industrial connections and, they gave us a list 6 commercial connections with minimum 20GW utilization connection and we were able to track 4 manufacturing units of the 6 commercial connections. We called each of these units to verify what they produce and their exact location.

Proceeding with multiple lists from different sources—the District Industries Office in Bijnor, the electricity office in Dhampur, and a list from a study conducted 40 years ago—we pursued two strategies.

First, we visited the known industrial locations for on-ground verification. We planned our visit accordingly & after reaching there, we got information about other industries as well. Additionally, we drove along all five highways connecting Dhampur with other cities to check if there were any industrial units located along the roads. We would stop, introduce ourselves and the study, and make a request for the meeting. We repeated this method to gain more clarity on the list of currently functioning industries. This process was also accompanied by making calls to the contacts available to us and verifying them repeatedly to determine whether these units fit into the criteria established for the study.

Second, we engaged with various stakeholders, including government officials, entrepreneurs, and residents, to gather additional information on industrial units operating in Dhampur and its 5-kilometer radius. When we discussed the industries list with prominent citizens of the town about the industries, they were surprised that we were considering the “chota mota” unit (Micro and Small Enterprises) as an industry. They considered Dhampur Sugar Mill Ltd. (DSM) the only industry in the town. However, we explained that we were looking for industries that are involved in manufacturing processes, and they also added a few units to our list. Upon explaining our criteria for the study, people informed us about the industrial units they were aware of, which had not been included in our prepared list.

Additionally one of the entrepreneur and a prominent citizen of the town suggested us to talk to the The Indian Industries Association (IIA) for the detailed list of manufacturing industries in Dhampur, we called them, but they don’t have the list of manufacturing industries. This information would have helped us identify entrepreneurs and industrialists who are members of these associations, particularly those from Dhampur in the Bijnor chapter, and who are successfully running units in the town. When we tried to search their website the details of the industries were missing.

This is how we drafted the industries list of Dhampur, the more we looked, the more we found! The process of preparing the list was one of the major challenges and was followed exclusively during the first field trip. It continued in all subsequent trips until the locations and names of the units were repeatedly the same, and we could not find any unit later.

Challenges in connecting & building trust with govt. officials, entrepreneur & workers

1. Challenges in securing appointment with government officials via emails

We composed emails requesting appointments to the District Magistrate of Bijnor and the Chairperson of Dhampur Municipal Council but did not receive any response from them, so we found the contact number of District Magistrate of Bijnor on Google and called them and it was more effective when they asked us to come meet them. We went with set of questions and DM accepted it and told that we will get the response of each question in transcribed form which is very helpful for our study. Without facing any problem we also got chance to meet other government officials, we narrated our study and they praised us for doing such study on Dhampur and they supported us by providing us with the all relevant information and data for the study.

2. Meeting with proxy Pradhans

We also met both of the proxy Pradhan’s from our two-village study. It was very surprising to see the women elected for the Pradhan post, but just on the paper. When we asked one of the Pradhan, he said “innhe kya pata gaon or logo ke bare me”, and when we met them they didn’t even talked to us and didn’t showed any interest.

We easily met the proxy Pradhan of Sarakhthal Madho, but when we narrated our story and told him that we will be doing survey in the village, he replied “Kahe ka hum battaye aapko, hume kya milega”. Later he said “Jo sahi lagega vo battayenge” and there was lot of discrepancy in the survey, later we had to delete his records.

Contacting the proxy Pradhan of Allahadinpur Bhogi was particularly difficult. We called him multiple times when he commited to meet us in his village, However, when we reached at the village, he was unavailable due to his personal reasons and recommended us to meet his friend instead. Accordingly, we met his friend but the information which he provided was scattered & lacked clarity. After realizing it’s necessary to meet the Pradhan in person to extract right information, we initiated multiple calls & kept on chasing him for the meeting. He committed to meet us but was not available at the agreed times. Eventually, he blocked our contact numbers. We shared these challenges with the block Pradhan, who assured us he would facilitate a meeting with the panchayat Pradhan. Despite these assurances and our follow-up attempts to contact the Pradhan were unsuccessful.

Challenges in securing appointment with entrepreneurs

1. Individual units were contacted to request appointments. We faced significant skepticism; many entrepreneurs suspected us of being impostors.
2. A common misconception was that we were representatives from the Income Tax Department, GST Department, Labour Department, or other government agencies.
3. Multiple calls (typically two to three) were made over several days to secure appointments. Regular follow-ups were necessary to overcome initial resistance.
4. Entrepreneurs frequently canceled appointments at the last minute with remarks such as “I don’t have time now and let’s meet tomorrow”. Many were not present at the agreed time, necessitating repeated visits.
5. Despite having appointments, entrepreneurs often rushed conversations mentioning, “Please be quick, I don’t have much time”. This sometimes resulted in getting limited information and therefore incomplete data.
6. Some of the entrepreneurs whom we approached were reluctant to meet & some of them denied any engagement with the workers.

Challenges in engaging with workers

1. Engaging with workers in small units was facilitated by the cooperation of the entrepreneur, who encouraged them to participate in the survey.
2. The presence of the entrepreneur during interviews made workers hesitant to respond precisely specially when in terms of income and workers welfare benefits.
3. Communicating with workers at Dhampur Sugar Mill proved challenging due to their shift schedules.
4. The admin officer suggested us to meet the workers outside the campus as the workers were busy.
5. Outside the campus whenever we tried approaching the workers, they seemed tired from their shift & in a rush to reach home.
6. Consequently, only 1 out 10 workers gave their valuable time & answered our queries. We approached a parking guard and narrated about our research, he agreed to help us by asking the workers to cooperate & supported us a lot in engaging with the workers.
7. Some workers were not very comfortable in answering as they wanted to understand how it is going to benefit them.
8. Multiple visit outside of Sugar mill helped in building the trust of workers as they saw us coming every day for the survey.
9. Despite efforts, some workers remained reluctant to provide comprehensive information, that results in limitations in data collection.

Challenges in Data Collection and Geocoding Accuracy Using Kobo Toolbox

The questionnaire administered via Kobo Toolbox comprised a mix of quantitative and qualitative questions. Responses to quantitative inquiries were provided as numbers, while qualitative questions were answered via voice recordings for each question separately. However, in qualitative questions respondents occasionally addressed multiple questions within a single response, this made it hard to make a prorate data. To fix this, we had to listen to all the recordings later and figure out which answer went with which question. Additionally, we were finding it difficult to do geo-coding of a few of those industries that were located in the interior part of the town with dense buildings clustered together. Consequently, Kobo Toolbox showed low location accuracy, and resulted in inaccurate recording of the location of some of the industries.

Budget and Logistics Challenges during Field Visits in Bijnor and Dhampur

The budget we had for field work was ₹6,30,000. The hotels were expensive and there were not many options of hotels to choose from and get a hygienic accommodation under budget. After a tremendous search, we found a nice place, and though it was expensive, we were left with no alternate options. Additionally, we didn’t have easy access to transport for local travel which led to booking a taxi from Delhi to Dhampur and keeping it for the whole field visit, which was quite expensive. These two major expenses exhausted our budget, which led to the need to enhance our study budget.

Small towns in India have undergone notable changes in their social and economic landscapes, shaped by urbanisation, rising incomes, and changing social practices. One of the most visible transformation is banquet halls, which have become central to the social life of these towns.

Since February 2024, I have been on the field, collecting data for the study titled Growth Dynamics and Regional Transformation Potential of Small Towns: 40 Years’ Development Saga of Dhampur, India. Dhampur, located in western part of Uttar Pradesh. The population of Dhampur is 50,997 with Hindu 49.63% and Muslims 47.97% (Population census, 2011) and is known for its agriculture and industries particularly Dhampur Sugar Mill. During our visit, I noticed a significant number of banquet halls in the town and its surroundings’, particularly near highways. I wondered why there are so many banquet halls in a small town and their surroundings. To gather more information, I met owners of two banquet halls namely:  – Shubham Mandapam and Gulmohar Palace.

Shubham Mandapam, established almost four decades ago in 1986 by late Shri Mukesh Jain, who started it as a tent and lighting business for weddings and other functions. Over time, it evolved into a banquet hall to fulfil the demand for well-organized, larger-scale events in Dhampur. It is currently managed by Mr. Naman Jain, son of late Shri Mukesh Jain. According to Mr. Jain, the banquet hall industry in Dhampur has seen huge growth in the last few years. He mentioned that at present there are 24 banquet halls within a 10-kilometer radius of the town, with three of these halls located inside Dhampur town itself. Shubham Mandapam operates on 1.25 acres of leased land, for which they pay an annual rent of ₹3.5 lakh to Sitapur Gandhi Netra Chikitsalaya. Because the land is leased, the structures are not permanent; the hall consists of five rooms with tin roofs and an open space used for large gatherings. Despite its long-standing presence in the town, Shubham Mandapam has seen a decline in the number of weddings it hosts. Ten years ago, they used to handle between 100 to 120 weddings annually; today, that number has dropped to around 60. The growth of competitors has made it more challenging to maintain their market share. The rest of the time, the hall is used for birthday parties, anniversary celebrations and other social events such as ‘kirtan’. Besides these events, they also rent the space to a magician for his shows, which run for a month, and to traders for weekly bazaars. Altogether, the banquet hall is in use for around 300 days a year and rest of the days are kept for maintenance.

In contrast to Shubham Mandapam’s organic growth from a tent business, Gulmohar Palace is a modern and planned investment, it caters to the town’s growing demand for upscale event venues. The family behind the venture has long-standing roots in the region. It was established in 2007 by the brother of Mr. Dheeresh Agarwal, who is currently running a shoe store in Dhampur town. Mr. Agarwal was a cricketer and a government employee at ONGC and the Reserve Bank of India and later worked in United India Insurance Company Limited in Dhampur. His grandfather was a zamindar and also ran a sugar crusher from 1950 to 1978. His father was the chairman of the Dhampur Municipal Council and he was also arms dealer and operated a stone crusher, which was closed in 2005. Gulmohar is currently managed by Mr. Agarwal’s elder son, Mr. Mayank Agarwal. Their decision to enter the hospitality industry was because they saw a growing demand for quality venues for weddings and other social events.

Gulmohar Palace was designed with modern sensibilities in mind. To start the banquet, Mr. Agarwal’s family spent 90 lakh rupees, of which they took a 50 lakh rupee loan from the State Bank of India at an interest rate of 12.5%, and for the rest of amount they used their savings. This shows the diversification of capital into new economic activity. The banquet offers 9 rooms, a hall, and an open ground. It also has a family restaurant, which is one of the well-known dining spots in the town. Its establishment reflects the town’s changing aspirations and the increasing expectations of its more affluent residents. Managed by a retired government official, the hall has become a central part of Dhampur’s social scene. While the initial investment in Gulmohar Palace was substantial, the venue has continued to grow in popularity, with plans to expand further by adding additional rooms to accommodate guests.

The increase in banquet halls in Dhampur reflects larger economic and social changes that may be happening in small towns throughout India. Both owners of banquet halls mentioned various reason for the demand for banquet halls.

Population growth: As the population increases in urban areas, the number of weddings also rises, leading to a higher demand for event venues.

Impact of urbanisation

As cities expand and penetrate nearby rural areas, villages around Dhampur are increasingly exposed to urban lifestyles and social practices. This exposure is one of the major reason behind the shift from home gatherings for family celebrations and weddings to using a banquet hall. Improved roads, better public transport and higher personal means of transport ownership such as car, motor bike, tractor etc. have enhanced connectivity between rural and urban areas and it is another important reason behind this shift that enables residents of nearby villages to come to the town to attend social celebration in these banquet halls.

Convenience

Hosting events in banquet halls is seen as more convenient, as it reduces the logistical challenges of arranging tents and other necessities at home.

Additionally, fewer people are available to assist in managing larger occasions, making banquet halls a more practical choice.

Changing social trends

Previously, weddings involved extended family participation over several days. Now, guests tend to arrive on the wedding day itself, leading to a preference for well-organized, shorter-duration events.

Impact of increased disposable income

Demand of banquet hall is supported by the increase in disposable incomes. Economic growth in cities has allowed families to spend more on weddings and celebrations, and this trend is also spreading to smaller towns. Even in rural areas, rising incomes of farmers due to agro-based industries and remittances from family members working in cities have contributed to the growing demand for banquet halls.

Impact of higher education

The younger generations prefer more organized events which has increased the demand of banquet halls. Higher education has played a key role in shaping these aspirations. As more people become educated, their exposure to new ideas and modern practices increases. They are influenced by city life and want to bring that level of change to their own celebrations.

Operational challenges

Mr. Jain highlights that running a banquet hall may seem like a profitable business, many entrepreneurs underestimate the operational costs involved. The owner has to follow the rules and regulations and have to register for multiple licences, like – to take NOCs from fire department, electricity board and FSSAI also they have to register for GST and MSME.

In terms of taxation both the banquet hall has to pay GST and every year they have to pay Rs 8000 under Sarai Act additionally they have to pay property tax, since Shubham Mandapam operates on leased land and does not have permanent structures, it is exempt from property taxes. However, Gulmohar Palace has to pay property tax for its permanent structure.

One of the biggest challenges these venues face is workforce management. Both halls rely heavily on informal labor, particularly for events. Shubham Mandapam employs four permanent workers for cleaning and maintenance, and hires additional staff on an as-needed basis from Dhampur tehsil. On the other hand, Gulmohar Palace employs 25 permanent workers, 80% of them are from Nepal, with the rest come from Dhampur and nearby areas. It has been noticed that in food sector most of the workers are from Nepal.

Managing a temporary workforce poses several difficulties, including inconsistency in service quality and the logistical challenges of providing food and lodging for the workers for permanent workers. The owners of both banquet halls noted that all the working group are of male workers, the entrepreneurs mentioned, it’s very challenging to hire female workers because safety for women is still a major concern in this field.

The growth of banquet halls in Dhampur is a small example of the bigger changes happening in small towns across India. These banquet halls create jobs and represent modern living and social status, showing how the people of Dhampur are changing their hopes and dreams. As Dhampur continues to grow, the banquet hall industry will play a big role in shaping the town’s social and economic life as it is likely to help in other small town and surrounding villages across India.

For over half a century, the Centre for Policy Research has been at the heart of some of the most significant policy discussions in India. 

From the Archives is an attempt to reconstruct CPR’s history from its archival records and chart its journey. The series will revisit CPR’s research initiatives, publications, and interactions with national and global policymakers, which have helped it mount the challenge of inclusive, actionable change. 

How We Started

Dr. Vishwanath A Pai Panandikar established CPR in the year 1973 in a commercial building in Vasant Vihar. Having worked at various ministries of the Indian government, Dr. Panadikar observed anticipatory shortfalls in the country’s policy-making mechanisms. He founded the institution with a vision to foster better policy planning and remedy this gap. From its outset, the Centre has been a space for holding seminars and conferences, conducting research, and promoting education aimed at maximising national resources and channeling a more robust public discourse. 

Research Areas 1980-84

 

During the early 1980s, the Centre responded to several key issues of topical relevance. It worked extensively on formulating strategies for social and economic development. For this, the Centre undertook collaborative projects to outline the role of bureaucracy and understand citizen participation in India’s growth story. The projects sought to draft ways of closing the gap between administrators and common citizens to drive synergic development.

 

Through its external associations, CPR also facilitated research and dialogues on nation-building, national security, regionalism in Asia, non-alignment in a bipolar world, nuclear weapons, and India’s cooperation with its neighbours. The Centre collaborated with the UN and its agencies, SAARC, and other foreign and local organisations to rise to the occasion. 

The Centre also engaged with rural industrialisation and started an action-research project in the Alwar district to enhance the industrial capacity of rural areas and develop policy actions for integrated rural development. The public policy discourse of the 1970s and ’80s India was gripped with visible anxiety about the rising population. The Centre also made academic contributions on this subject through numerous research outputs and developed blueprints for people-centric, integrated family planning programmes.

This is the first edition in this series. Stay tuned for more!

IN MEMORIAM

Dr. Manmohan Singh (1932 – 2024)
Former Member of the Governing Board
Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi

We join the nation and the world to condole the demise of Dr. Manmohan Singh, former Prime Minister of India.

It is difficult to summarise his manifold contributions to nation-building and the way he nurtured institutions. They were transformative and pivotal in shaping today’s India, across multiple dimensions.

A man as wise and knowledgeable as he was humble, CPR was fortunate to have his guidance as a board member in our formative years. As our Founder – President Dr. Pai Panandiker recalls, Dr. Singh was a keen participant in ideating the institution.

We join millions across the world who not only mourn his passing but celebrate this great son of India.

We extend our heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family.

There is an increasing policy engagement and advocacy emerging from various fronts on the possible European commitments and collaboration in the management of India’s river basins. One of the key learning experiences that is often suggested in this context is to reflect on Europe’s policy frameworks and institutional structures for improved outcomes from India’s river rejuvenation programmes. In India, the past decade witnessed an unprecedented focus and budgetary support by the Government of India (GoI) on river restoration, starting with the Namami Gange Programme (NGP). India is contemplating expanding Namami Gange’s experiences into a policy ecosystem to revitalise its rivers. The Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS) recently commissioned a large-scale study on assessment and management plans for six river basins in India, namely Mahanadi, Narmada, Godavari, Krishna, Cauvery, and Periyar, for improved river management along the lines of the NGP. In this context, how does the European experience offer insights to inform programmes like the NGP? In this commentary, we briefly outline some of the legal and institutional facets of the European experience and the lessons it holds for India.

European Cooperation on Rivers

The European experience of managing its river basins in the post-World War II period is often considered an exemplary case of regional cooperation in the management of freshwater ecosystems. This has resulted in the implementation of several legally binding directives, most notably the adoption of the European Water Framework Directive (EU WFD) in 2000 and Flood Directive (FD) in 2007. The EU WFD has proven to be a pivotal piece of legislation in Europe’s history, reflecting the Union’s commitment to cooperative transboundary water management. Though the EU WFD appears to be a standalone legislative framework for water management, it reflects historical lessons learned from cooperation over important river basins —  most notably the Rhine and the Danube river basins.

Early Experiences

Some of the earliest evidence of formal cooperation dates back to 1815 when European nations came to an agreement over navigation on the river Rhine towards the end of the Napoleonic wars. This culminated in the Final Act of the Congress of Vienna. Article 108 ¹ of the Final Act resulted in the constitution of the Central Commission for Navigation of Rhine (CCNR). Subsequently, the Mainz Convention of 1831 and Mannheim Convention of 1868 accommodated various riparian concerns regarding Rhine navigation, but under the same spirit and principles embedded under Article 108. Cooperation over the Rhine became a template for other larger European river basins such as the Danube and Elbe. Moreover, the legal framework established to facilitate cooperation among the Rhine Basin countries manifested in the Rhine being the most used trade route in Europe for inland navigation underlying the economic prospect of cooperation over its waters.

Institutional Adaptation: From Economic Rationality towards Managing Environmental Risks

These early instances, however, created consequences affecting the aquatic health of the river — notably, increasing river pollution and the dwindling salmon population. With the conclusion of World War II, the situation worsened.

The major European economies — coincidentally the Rhine Basin states — steadily shifted their focus on deteriorating water quality. The International Commission for the Protection of Rhine (ICPR) was established in 1950 through the cooperation of France, Germany, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, and Switzerland towards restoration of the river. However, only in 1963, 13 years after its inception, ICPR obtained legal personality ² at the Berne Convention through Article 6.2, which endows it with rights and obligations – allowing ICPR to act independently and being represented by its Chairman. The Presidency rotates among the Rhine basin states every three years. According to the Preamble of ICPR, the goal of the Convention is to increase multilateral cooperation to facilitate sustainable development of the Rhine ecosystem. Initially, ICPR’s scope was narrowly restricted to addressing water quality concerns. Later, it expanded its focus and undertook a broader role which fundamentally altered the pathways for Europe’s water management paradigm. 

Imprint of the Rhine Cooperation on EU’s River Basin Management

Europe’s early experiences in managing large river basins like Rhine and Danube bolstered the development of important regional directives in the EU for environmental management – the most prominent being the EU WFD. Reflecting on the early European experiences illustrate that European member states developed adaptive management techniques from the Rhine experience that helped advance these regional directives. In this regard, three broad insights emerge:

• Learning from History: The success and frameworks established for the Rhine have significantly influenced the EU’s approach to water management. The collaborative approach to managing the Rhine has shown the benefits of transboundary cooperation, including improved water quality, restored ecosystems, and reduced flood risks. These successes have reinforced the EU’s political commitment to cooperative water management, shaping broader EU water policy. The early experiences with the Rhine navigation established interdependencies over time and manifested in the creation of transnational institutions, flourishing trade, and heightened consultation efforts.
• Setting Precedent: The Rhine cooperation efforts highlighted the need for preventive measures to protect water quality and ecosystems. Protection of Rhine water quality through the deployment of various economic and legal instruments, and its satisfactory implementation proved to be a guiding force behind  EU’s environmental policy. Techno-legal instruments such as the Polluters Pay Principle, No Harm Rule, Precautionary Principle, Sustainable Development Principle, etc. emerged from the experiential wisdom accrued through the management of the Rhine and other important river basins. These environmental principles serve as the core aspects of EU environmental law and transboundary water management. For example, the allocation of costs based on the Polluters Pay Principle among the Rhine Basin States, as well as the industries located along the banks of the river contributed to the Rhine Action Programme. On a similar note, the No Harm Principle ³ was operationalised by ICPR as it played a pivotal role in the cooperation between the upstream and downstream Rhine basin states for pollution control measures.
• Institutionalisation of Cooperative Mechanisms: The River Basin Management paradigm in Europe was a gradual and incremental process. Insights offered by the functioning of the CCNR and ICPR have been central in shaping the approach taken by the EU’s management of its large river basins.  For example, the River Basin Organisation constituted to pursue Integrated River Basin Management (IRBM) as mandated by the EU WFD is a culmination of various institutional practices that emerged from the functioning of ICPR and CCNR. In addition, the other single most important criterion for pursuing river basin management is to ensure coordination and cooperation across geographies and political actors. The Rhine experience greatly benefitted and advanced this cause. The international cooperation effort and its eventual institutionalisation for the Rhine restoration programme, have produced protocols for monitoring, data management, and coordination mechanisms.These protocols include consensus-based measures to maintain high-quality data standards – making it accurate and reliable. These efforts paved the way for the adoption of the EU WFD and  played a vital role in achieving the WFD’s ambitious water quality and ecological objectives.

India’s experience with NGP and what it can learn from the Rhine

In the Indian context, the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) has taken some important steps in rejuvenating the Ganga Basin. NGP, in its current avatar, aims to address diverse pollution sources by including the entire basin as a unit of governance. The Ganga River Basin Management Plan (GRBMP), prepared by a consortium of seven IITs, is credited with its usefulness for planning in Ganga and remains foundational for the NGP. Like the Rhine experience, the Ganga rejuvenation started with modest and narrow efforts.  It was only in 2016 that the effort received a significant legal fulcrum. Prior to 2016, NMCG had limited functional scope, restricting its role to funding specific projects for the Ganga Basin. It did not have a mandate to take cognizance of any threats to the Ganges or the power to issue directions to the concerned authorities/polluters. In 2016, under the Environment (Protection) Act of 1986, the role of NMCG was strengthened to enforce laws regarding pollution control in the Ganges Basin. NMCG is now a fully functional authority that is both a regulator and an implementer in pursuing the management of the Ganges Basin towards improving the ecology and aquatic health of the river. Besides pollution abatement measures, it is making a promising effort to improve river-city connection through the Urban River Management Plan (URMP), standardizing data collection protocols, etc. In this context, NGP offers opportunities to establish itself as a template for India’s river rejuvenation goals.

Way Forward

More than anything, the Rhine and the larger European experience offers two critical lessons — a legal framework developed through a consensus-building approach and the constitution of a legal authority which should be supplemented by institutional and deliberative mechanisms. In this aspect, NMCG is still at a nascent stage. The formidable task for NMCG would be to address some of the complex areas of the river rejuvenation programme — such as inter-state and centre-state cooperation, that would be required for pollution management, especially its core aspects of infrastructure finance, and data sharing architecture. All this would require cooperation across scales and would be crucial in sustaining the programme post the mission life of the NGP which is slated to end in its current capacity in 2026. 

 

This blog is part of an ongoing project on Rejuvenating India’s Rivers, in collaboration with the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG).

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1. Final Act of the Congress of Vienna 1815, Article 108 (CVIII) stipulates that when the states are separated or traversed by the same navigable river, the navigation related powers must be regulated by common consent.
2.  Legal personality gives an organisation its own legal standing in the court, i.e. ICPR is formally recognized as a legal entity and can be legally represented by its chairperson.
3. No Harm Principle obligates parties to not have any adverse impacts on the other in a cross-jurisdictional setting and particularly directed to the upstream states.