Create education facilities that will lead to economic springfields
Some 25 years ago, the then-dynamic CM of Tamil Nadu, the late Dr. M. Karunanidhi, wanted to provide gainful employment to hundreds of thousands of people, both directly and indirectly. He saw a vast area of under-developed land at Sriperambadur, a suburb of Chennai, excellently connected to the metropolis since it is bang on the Chennai to Bangalore highway. He created a big industrial cluster here.The massive number of assembly units in this huge industrial complex, get their manpower from the numerous villages that dot the entire surrounding districts of Tiruvallur, Kanchipuram, Ranipet, and the outskirts of even Vellore city. The result? The plus 2 qualified girls from poor families are gainfully employed in this industrial cluster and in another cluster that he later built, at Oragadam, some 46 kilometers from the heart of the city.
Today, rapid industrialization has led to dual incomes. The girls often belong to small farmer families, with small holdings. Together with whatever they earn, the girls are far above the poverty line. They are transported from their nearby pickup points and go back very safely to their houses, in over 175 buses that ply to various places. Rural housing has positively picked up. Houses that were purchased or built for a song in those good old times are being refurbished. The service sector has boomed in each of the villages, where even two girls are from the same family. Many become graduates through distance education and further undergo teacher training, even before they get married. Every two kilometers, one can find a private school. Most of them go through employment exchanges and become Government servants as well after they acquire the B.Ed degree.
These are the economic Springfields that have the potential of creating a big impact across the entire economic spectrum. Dr. Kalaignar, as is still called, may be criticized, but millions still adore him for his farsighted economic policies.