There are many lessons in the recent tragedy at the Maruti-Suzuki factory at

Manesar in Gurgaon district. One of them is that labour trouble is not only a
managements or a unions problem but a vital concern of the state. aryana has
not learned this lesson. !t destroyed the vibrant industrial to"n of #aridabad
more than a generation ago due to poor industrial relations. !t is no" bent on
scaring industry a"ay from Gurgaon as "ell. $ast years unrest at Maruti resulted
in %s &'()) crore loss. This is a shockingly high *gure+half a billion dollars+for
any company to lose any"here in the "orld from industrial trouble. #or Suzuki'
"hose !ndian operation brings in half its global pro*t' it is appalling. #or a
,apanese company to be continuously in the ne"s for labour unrest is
e-traordinary "hen ,apan has taught team"ork and industrial harmony to the
"orld. Suzuki should ask itself if it has the right persons in charge.
The role of the state is less obvious. !n the ./0)s' #aridabad had an active
municipal government' fertile agriculture' a direct rail"ay line to 1elhi' and a
host of industries. Gurgaon at the time "as a sleepy village "ith rocky soil and
pitiable agriculture. !t had no local government' no rail"ay link and no industries.
2ompared to #aridabad' it "as "ilderness. Thirty years later Gurgaon has
become the symbol of a rising !ndia. 2alled 3Millennium 2ity' it has dozens of
shiny skyscrapers' &4 shopping malls' seven golf courses' countless lu-ury
sho"rooms of the "orlds most famous brands. !t has 5& million s6uare feet of
commercial space and is home to the "orlds largest corporations. !ts racing
economy is re7ected in fabled apartment comple-es "ith s"imming pools' spas
and saunas' "hich vie "ith the best gated communities any"here. o" did this
happen8
Gurgaons disadvantage turned out to be an advantage. !t had no municipality
and "as more or less ignored by the state government. This meant less red tape
and fe"er bureaucrats "ho could block its development. Seeing its stupendous
rise' people began to ask' "hy do "e need a government at all + "ith corrupt
politicians and unresponsive bureaucrats8 9hen they sa" prosperity spreading
across the nation amidst governance failure' they cynically claimed' :!ndia gro"s
at night "hen the government sleeps.; <ut the Maruti incident teaches that !ndia
also needs to gro" during the day. !t needs an e=ective state. >n alert police
could have prevented the tragedy. %ational labour la"s "ould have stopped
Maruti from hiring contract "orkers' "hose status and bene*ts are at the root of
the "orker unrest. !f red tape and corruption are the do"nside of #aridabads
governance model' then the problem "ith Gurgaons laissez faire model is the
lack of basic services+it has no functioning se"age system? no reliable
electricity or "ater supply? no decent roads or public transport.
> sensible company in !ndia "ill not hire a permanent "orker today because of
our senseless labour la"s. !nstead' it hires contract "orkers to "hich it denies
long-term bene*ts. Meant to protect "orkers' the la"s have harmed them. They
are the main reason "hy !ndia has not been able to create a manufacturing
revolution and create more @obs. The spread of contract labour has reduced the
bargaining po"er of unions as "ell' "ho no" represent less than AB of !ndias
"orkers. Co"here in the "orld has so much harm been done by a piece of
legislation.
The lesson from the Maruti story is that !ndia cannot forever gro" at night. !t
must have an e=ective state "hich upholds the rule of la" and gro"s during the
day. Ceither #aridabads nor Gurgaons model of governance are the right ones.
aryana should ponder over the vigorous competition that e-ists bet"een the
states for investment. !t "ill lose out to the states that o=er better governance.