Shiban Khaibri
Aspiring for attaining financial autonomy for the State for the last four years, the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has struck a pessimistic note by declaring that the state’s current financial situation was grim. He further says that the total income of the state is only Rs.6500 crores which is not sufficient in any way to meet its necessary expenditures. It may be recalled that the State does not earn as much even as to be in a position to pay its wage and salary bill of Rs.13500 crores to its employees and Rs.2000 crores as pension to the retired employees annually. It is more than that of the Punjab Government’s total salary and pension bill of Rs.15100 crore as on date. The state’s salary and wage bill is expected to go up to Rs.16500 crore in the very near future on account of salary revisions, after the increase as per the demand of the striking employees and to fully implement the recommendations of the 6th pay commission report, regularizing the daily wagers and payment of the periodic additional DA etc.
The Chief Minister has recently minced no words in saying that the position of financial affairs of the state are worrying and “we survive completely on the help from the Central Government”. In other words, the CM clarified that the state was totally dependant on the central assistance, give it any name like receipt of loans, subsidies, aid and the like. The Chief Minister accepted and agreed about the precarious “condition” of the financial health of the state while laying the foundation stone of the Rs.3113 crore Baglihar ii project at Chanderkot in district Ramban , Jammu on Sept 8. He made it clear that “we have to remain totally dependent on central assistance”. What if such a carefree, comfortable and non worrying situation abruptly comes to an end or the level of massive financial assistance is sliced gradually either because of such a Government coming to power at New Delhi which very rigidly regulates and asks for the end use and the schedule of repayments, the Chief Minister said that “the state shall then plunge into a very difficult situation”. Perhaps that is why, the Chief Patron of the ruling National Conference and the Union Minister Farooq Abdullah has all hopes pinned on Rahul Gandhi becoming the Prime Minister of India after 2014 elections because in his view if Gujarat Chief Minister Narindra Modi is chosen as the PM, he can “prove dangerous for secularism and democracy”. Dr. Farooq further said that even the PM, Dr. Manmohan Singh had said about Rahul (as the future PM) and ” so am I saying, he is young and a better choice and can take decisions” (to keep aiding the state and funding all the developmental projects).
But for the options, the State Government must have chalked out a blue print of revamping and accelerating the process of increasing incomes and thus harness revenues to match its vast expenditures. It is comprehensible as well as quite feasible that to improve the financial position of the state, the need to harness hydroelectric vast potential is worth laying stress upon and tirelessly working towards that end so that on the one hand we curtail, if not all together stop, importing power but also sell it to earn revenue and on the other hand, become in a position to provide 24 hours’ non stop electricity to the people and to the business and industrial establishments. That, however, is a matter to fructify not in the immediate future and hence on short term basis, the Government must draw up a plan as to how total dependency on the centre is reduced gradually. Referring to the state budget for the current accounting year, excepting nominally increasing the tax on the increasingly “whipped” cigarettes and liquor, to register quite negligible income, nothing of the sort to tangibly enhance revenues was either proposed or implemented in the “zero deficit” Rs.33853 crore budget. A mere increase from Rs. 3400 crores of the last year to Rs.4600 crores this fiscal is quite negligible.
The Finance Minister while presenting the budget had seen a good potential in the two most important sectors of the state economy which he called as its backbone, the tourism and the agriculture. On both the fronts, in particular the agriculture, there has been no improvement to result in a turnaround of the economy. The state continues to be deficient in the production of food grains and has to import food grains, edible oil, vegetables, pulses and even milk from other states. It is feared that as against a current cumulative shortfall of 30% in respect of the agricultural production, by 2020 it might touch any where between 40 to 45%. Not only is the production falling but lesser people tend to engage themselves in the main agricultural activity coupled with vast areas of agricultural land getting converted into non agricultural use. Very little is being done to address the problems in the core, very sensitive sector of agriculture. This state has largest opportunities and potential to promote organic farming which as per a rough estimate has the capacity to lead to a wealth accumulation of over Rs.11000 crores with a hope of exports valuing Rs.600 crores just within the next five years. This field can generate jobs of over 8 million in the state. Another 15 to 20 lac jobs could be generated if on-farm storing, processing, packaging, and marketing facilities are included. As regards tourism, though conventional tourism as well as pilgrimage or religious tourism is constantly on the rise and people visit the state in large numbers, they spend, eat , use transport, make purchases, stay in hotels, lodges, house boats and are proving as a stimulus to the economy and hence economic prudence demands that it must be providing jobs to thousands of people , generate income with a multiplier effect but why is the unemployment position not showing any improvement at least to the extent easing the pressure on “Sarkari Naukri” needs to be analyzed. This sector has a very vast potential and we have yet to travel miles and miles to explore newer areas as tourist hubs and destinations. Jammu region has a vast tourism potential but faces neglect, no worthwhile efforts have been made by the Government to develop vast areas of tourist interest in the mountainous areas of Kishtwar, Doda, Ramban, Rajouri, Poonch Reasi etc. This sector could generate huge revenues for the State besides increasing individual incomes if proper policies were implemented.
Referring to the budget proposals, it was said that climate and opportunities would be created in the state where “prestigious units” investing Rs.25 crores or more would be encouraged to earn a capital subsidy of a lucrative Re1 crore or more to boost production and generate employment. No review or any follow up seems to have taken place to evaluate the response and the problems thereof. Likewise SKEWP for the youth with Rs.90 crore budget has virtually not proved successful as envisaged at the time of its launch. The extravaganza and ostentatious spending by the government too would help in saving revenues. Revenues saved are revenues earned. Lavish over spending on bungalows of Ministers and bureaucrats for their comforts, avoidable tours and visits, cavalcade of cars and whooping petrol bills are diagonally opposed to the principle of “first earn and then spend” . Without earning, spending should be minimal as we are living fully on Central assistance.
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