A stroke of genius ***

Vengaiah squatted in front of his shack in Doddapatti. The heat shimmered off the rocky ground. His few goats rummaged among the rocks for grass. The wells had no water, and the villagers had to haul water from nearly a mile away. It had not always been like this. He recalled that even a few years ago the wells had water all year round. Crops grew and there were grazing grounds all around the village for the cattle and goats. The Ranch had changed their lives. Although some of the villagers worked there or sold their produce to the Ranch for paltry sums, they now lived in abject poverty. On top of that their access to Uravakonda town had been cut off by the Ranch fence. Now the villagers had to take a more circuitous route to town.
***
Ramarajulu Reddy alighted from his Mercedes Benz stretched limousine. As he entered his mansion, the manager of the Ranch followed. He had urgent papers to be signed. They were buying up another 1000 hectares to the north. “Our Ranch must be the biggest in the country. Do whatever it takes.” This was Reddy’s clear order. Over a short span of just 8 years, they had amassed a vast area in Kedahalli, stretching all the way from Uravakonda to Doddapatti. Through innovative and often questionable methods, they had tapped surface and ground water and transformed the Ranch into a green showcase. All types of crops grew there. Vast gardens bloomed. Many VVIPS visited the Ranch. It was a model and a showcase. The brochures handed out to visitors did not fail to mention that the per capita income of the Kedahalli taluk had increased a thousand fold since the Ranch had been established. But it did not say that 98% of the income was Reddy’s. It did not mention the exploitation of the poor ignorant villagers. Or that the massive extraction of water had depleted the water in all the surrounding areas, causing desert-like conditions in many of the areas around the Ranch. In short the Ranch served to enrich one man while impoverishing the community as a whole.
***
Minister Venkataraman was bored. The taluk officer was going on and on in a monotonous drone. “The Union Government has identified this as a problem. The development goal set was for the income disparity between taluks to be less than 25%. But here are two taluks next to each other with vast difference in income level. Kedahalli is extremely prosperous. The per capita income is among the highest in the State. But right next to it is Doddapatti. Per capita income less that Rs 400 per annum. Far below hardcore poverty levels.” He went on to show pie charts and more data. Then he showed a map of the area. Suddenly Venkataraman sat up. He had a brainwave.

“Hold on. Can we table a proposal to the State Assembly to merge these two taluks?”