Articles
Sense and No-sense About Special Status to Andhra Pradesh
Dt: 24/5/16
Sense and No-sense About Special Status to Andhra Pradesh
Dr T.H.Chowdary*
The Chief Minister , some of his cabinet colleagues and TDP functionaries are stridently demanding that the G.O.I should give A.P “special status” so that the congenitally deficit state can build its capital, industrialise rapidly and create jobs etc. But consider whether the following actions are becoming of a prudent and responsible leadership at the helm of the government .
· A.P increased the salaries of it s employees by 43%. For what achievement of the employees and for what benefit to the people was this increase? Could it not give a one-time distress relief instead of undertaking a permanent financial burden?
· Just to “pacify” or “buy peace”, GOAP would reduce the working days of the Secretariat/commissionerate etc., employees to five from six days a week? Is this not more pay for less work? Will not the non-secretariat employees in the districts also ask for a 5-day week?
· GOAP would give 30% house rent allowance (HRA) to the Secretariat staff when they move to the capital, Amaravati; instead of 25% they get in Hyderabad. Will not the State government officials in the adjacent cities Vijayawada and Guntur not demand 30% HRA, instead of what they get now?
· A state with a staggering Rs. 25,000 crore per year budget deficit distributes freebies- packets containing Rs. 247/- worth of gifts named after the person of the Chief Minister on the occasion of Ramzan and Sankranti and Rupees one crore for each district to celebrate Sankranti with cock fights, all these costing about Rs. 500 cores
· Holding three celebrations ( Bhoomi Puja, Foundation Stone for the capital and for the temporary secretariat building with great pomp each costing crores of rupees
· Spending about Rs. 1000 cr for each of Godavari and Krishna Pushkarams on ghats, “roads” etc., all of which will vanish with the first floods.
· GOAP rejected the inexpensive area suggested by the Sivaraman committee for location of the capital and chooses the costly fertile area and that too of more than 30,000 acres, larger in extent than any capital city in India including Delhi and perhaps any capital city in the world.
· GOAP engages foreign experts and companies to draft a “vision” for the state plans for the capital; design and construct a “Water Front” of river Krishna – Why this fascination for foreigners while Indian companies and talents are straddling the world.
· Droves of GOAP ministers, officers and advisers visit Singapore ( several times) , USA, Japan, UK to get investments and companies into A.P.
· The Chief Minister has a pucca office in the Secretariat complex in Hyderabad; yet, three camp offices in the same city ( Lake View, one in Gandipeta, own house in Madhapur) each done up for security and other facilities ; a temporary hired residence on which Rs. 10 cr are spent for security and “fitness” for a C.M; all these besides another camp office and residence ( hired an d fitted) in Vijayawada.
· The Chief Minister proudly tells that he made 18 trips to Delhi within 22 months to demand “special status”!
2. What rational citizens should ask are:
· Chandigarh was a “green field” capital built after partition of India to serve the resource-stripped remnant Punjab ( and later Haryana carved out of it). Were those states given “special status” . The late Pratap Singh Kairon put prodigious energies to develop the partition-ravaged Punjab; he inspired his people to hard work, entrepreneurship and cheerful outlook. He did not visit UK, USA, Japan, or other countries scouting for investments; yes he had NRI Sikhs in Canada; but Kairon did not beg or humour them to come and invest and develop the land of their fathers .
· Orissa had to develop a greed-field Bhubhaneswar as capital. Hare Krishna Mahtab, Nityananda Kanungo and Biju Patnaik did not make dozens of trips to Delhi or USA, Europe, Japan for expertise and investments.
· To please different caste groups GOAP funds Kapu House ( and names it as Chandranna , after the C.M). Will S.C, S.Ts, Christians, Muslims , Kammas, Reddis, Rajus, Velamas, transgenders, women, Lambadas etc., not blackmail Chandranna to build Forts/ castles caste-wise for them, and not wage battles for more welfare and empowerment for their groups .
· Germany and Japan were carpet-bombed in the 2nd world war. Their post-war Prime Ministers inspired their people to put up with privation and rebuild their homes, cities , industries, schools and businesses without foreign know-how and expertise. Winston Churchill led his people to withstand mighty Germany, alone from September 1939 to June 1941 . The true quality of leadership is tested in adversity.
· Why should debt-ridden, resource-short A.P have a capital rivalling the richest nations? No capital of any of the rich states of the USA has as vast an area or grandeur being dreamt for A.P. That does not detract the prosperity and development and beauty of those states.
3. Demand for “special status” is as attractive and emotional as the demand by several caste groups for inclusion in B.C category; to avail of the privilege of reservations. Even developed Tamilandu is demanding “special status” . Such a demand by regional parties-ruled States is confrontationist. In the contest for votes, regional parties compete with one another and the national parties, in making” dream” promises; all- free gadgets – bicycles, subsidised two& three-wheelers, TV sets, grinders, mixers, cell phones, lap tops, electricity, water, 2 bed-room plus kitchen homes, Mangal Sutras, 10 grams gold, dowries, free rice nine-month leave for the pregnant, fee reimbursement for KG to PG, foreign education ( for S.C, S.T, “minorities”), five-rupee meals, one-rupee tiffins , (prospectively: one wife/husband for every person), Internet /telephone connection, nutritious food for the pregnant ( no limit on pregnancies), mid-day meals, pensions for the aged, widows, alternately/differently abled, corporate hospital quality medical care and corporate, English medium schooling ( for the S.C, S.T, Minority and poor)...the list goes on expanding with every election and at election times, cash/kind gifts by all parties to the same voter. And the gifts are now-a-days named after the proprietary owner of the regional parties !
4. It appears that the regional parties ( Sonia Congress is attaining that status soon) think that it is their right to spend and it is the duty of the Center to Fund. If enough funds don’t came from the center, they demand the right to borrow from whoever can be coerced or enticed to lend.
5. Many politicians are after government power: Power is used to amass wealth. Wealth gets proprietorship of party. Proprietary Parties practise Dynastic Rule. Insurance against adversity is obtained by stashing money in tax havens ( Switzerland, Panama, Liechtenstein, Isle of Man).
6. Eternal and universal wisdom:
· Wealth comes from hard work
· Work becomes productive by use of science and technology.
· Work is worship, yagna .
· Wealth must be shared
· Welfare disbursements must be temporary not permanent and limitless
· Don’t gift fish; teach people to catch fish.
Would our politicians cease to run after power for personal benefit and learn to live and work wisely. (1,188 words)
END