MAHATMA Gandhi wanted Indian economics to be based on facts and figures obtained through rigorously scientific surveys. In 1930, he urged J C Kumarappa to conduct an economic survey of Matar taluka, a famine-stricken area in Gujarat's Kaira district.

Kumarappa's pathbreaking study of conditions prevailing in rural India is still praised. "Even today," says L C Jain, former Planning Commission member, "that survey is such that its depth, scope and coverage have not been excelled."

One of the issues in the survey is the status of natural resources such as soil, water, trees and grazing grounds. "Kumarappa drew attention to the degraded land in the villages and suggested the formation of a village committee to look after them," says Jain. "After 60 years, the government has got around to setting up a National Wastelands Development Board for the same purpose."

Gandhiji proposed Matar taluka because it was once a prosperous region of Gujarat, watered by four rivers and known for its fertile soil and industrious farmers.

A committee was set up by Gujarat Vidyapith to conduct the survey, with Sardar Patel as the chairperson and Kumarappa as director. From December 1929 to March 1930, the team of nine students and two Gujarat Vidyapith faculty members surveyed 54 villages, with Kumarappa supervising the fieldwork and walking long distances in order to collect data directly from the villagers.

After the survey was completed, Kumarappa spent 18 months analysing the vast amount of data and published the final report in September 1931. "The reader will find that the statistics presented here in careful schedules are even more eloquent than the main body of the carefully worded and lucid report," said Kakasaheb Kalelkar, vice chancellor of Gujarat Vidyapith.

Kumarappa determined poverty in Matar taluka was largely the result of the unjust and shortsighted policies of the British government's revenue, irrigation and agriculture departments. The average income in the region was only 7 pies per day, but the government still imposed heavy taxes, including high water tax that was collected even though irrigation facilities were not provided. The villagers were thus trapped in a vicious cycle of debt and destitution.

In addition to calling for a reduction of taxes, Kumarappa recommended wastelands be given over to the villagers for cultivation, with taxes being stayed until the land became profitable. He also urged better utilisation of water resources, providing improved seeds through selection and experimentation and encouraging the use of improved agricultural implements and irrigation devices such as the Persian wheel.