Articles
Financial Profligacy
Dt:23/4/21
Financial Profligacy
- Dr T H Chowdary*
Governments of some States ruled by regional parties are indulging in fantabulous welfare pay outs, not because they have the necessary revenues but by repeatedly borrowing directly from banks upto the limits set by law and very irresponsibly making their state-owned numerous corporations also borrowing from banks and financial markets ; the states giving them sovereign guarantees . The following are a few examples of States reckless borrowing and using that money for popular ( electoral) support.
2. One State has borrowed about Rs. 80,000 crs in the first two years of its second term while carrying forward the already accumulated debt of about Rs. 80,000 cr. In the third year of its rule it would borrow Rs. 47,000 cr! What is amazing is that the debt is to be repaid after 30 years! Neither present Chief Minister nor his son would be in power after 30 years ! Further while the Pay Revision Commission (PRC) of the State recommended 7.5 % rise in salaries of government servants, the Chief Minister decided to give a 30% rise ! The Municipality in the capital city is not able to pay salaries intime ; it is borrowing to pay! Yet the ruling party abolished property tax from payers of Rs. 10,000 and less per year! Also to fulfil its promise of free supply of 20,000 liters of water per month per house hold, free supply of electricity to barbers (hair dressing saloons) and washermen ( washeries, washing machines) are the latest give- aways. These are in addition to subsidise/ free supply of sheep to shepherds and buffalo/cows to cattle men.
3. In another State ruled by a regional party, as per the advertisement of 23 April 2021 in the Indian Express, under 21 schemes all named after the ruling Chief Minister or his late father , 4,65,58,594 women were gifted Rs. 82,368.31 cr since May 2019 till April 2021. Almost all this amount is borrowed money!
4. A regional party in opposition to the present ruling party in Tamilnadu has included over 500 items of gifts ( in the name of welfare of the poor and women and minorities that is, Muslims)! The BJP, slandered as a rightist Hindutva promoting and pro-rich party is having to compete with regional parties to go some way to distribute charity. Sonia-family- led Congress oorm Indira times has been implementing , while in power at the Center and States, garibhi hatao , minority uplift and Muslim First ( not SC or ST) programs . To gain power in States it has lost, it is openly allying itself with Muslim and communist parties and some regional ones.
5. In Telangana there is clamour that government should fill up a few lakh allegedly vacant government jobs. This demand is atrocious, to say the least. Government servants don’t create wealth ; they consume it. Almost every citizen having had to visit a government office, to submit an appeal or seek justice or redressal of a grievance will narrate how heartless, vexatious , graft demanding and delaying or many government officials (not servants but masters) . It is common experience of citizens visiting government offices to have been treated unhelpfully. Inoften do we come across citizen- friendly, problem-solving officials. We need better governance; not more government officials ; ever demanding promotions and pay rises and privileged welfare. A non-gazzetted government official costs not less than Rs. 300,000 per year. At Rs. 3000 per month as unemployment doll , in Rs. 3 lakhs 8 unemployed persons could be serviced ! Employment for productive work; for wealth creation; government’s function should be for facilitating wealth creation . Universal education and health care; preserving law & order; justice and defence of India are government’s essential and legitimate duties. Everything else must be facilitative, not executive.
6. It is worth while to recall a few wise dictums :
Saint Thruvalluvar long ago observed :
“Government in business means the ruination of people and if the Governments are rich ( by borrowed money or excessive taxation), the people will be poor”.
“They are good rulers who observe ethics, commit no crime and walk the path of honour and courage”.
The great intellectual and patriot and legal luminary Nani Palkhivala observed :
· Socialism as practised in India has been a fraud. Our brand of socialism did not result in transfer of wealth from the rich to the poor but only from the honest rich to the dishonest rich.
· The sleeping sickness of socialism is now universally acknowledged – but not officially in India…..
· The public sector enterprises are the black holes, the money guzzlers and they have been extracting an exorbitant price for India’s doctrinaire socialism.
· History will record that the greatest mistake of the Indian republic in the first 50 years ( and there after) of its existence was to make less investment in human resources- education, family planning, nutrition and public health- than in brick and motor dams and factories.
· Over taxation corrupted the national character overtly. That nation survived only because the tax system continued to breathe through loopholes and the economy used to breathe through window of tax evasion.
· Government should no longer be power above the people, to be petitioned and propitiated for favours.
· Influential politicians who prefer to let socialism remain the opium of the people and of whom it can be truly said that if ignorance is bliss, they should be the happiest men alive.
· We shut our eyes to the fact that socialism is to social justice, what ritual is to religion and dogma is to truth (928 words)
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