Parties promising cash bonanzas, monetary incentives and freebies have been the highlights this election season. The Trinamool Congress announced a political bonanza for women if it comes to power in Goa promising Rs 5,000 per woman per household, irrespective of caste, religion or income criteria. The party says it would like to bring its tried and tested scheme in West Bengal and said it will make conscious attempts to shore up Goa's economy which is badly hit by the pandemic.
In Goa, the Opposition proposals rival the State government's much-publicized Griha Aadhar scheme in a strategic attempt to reach out to women voters. A few days earlier, Aam Aadmi Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal assured to repackage the Griha Aadhar Scheme in Goa by hiking the dole from Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,500 and also promised an allowance of Rs 1,000 for every adult woman in the coastal State.
Parties are making outrageous promises purely by keeping in mind the electoral pulse without going into the financial detailing. Let’s not forget the fact that the BJP government struggled to meet the bills of social welfare schemes to an extent that at times beneficiaries were not paid for nearly six months understandably due to financial constraints on the treasury. The frequent borrowing is testimony to the fact that the State is not in a position to sustain itself on revenues. The revenue dips, extending up to 50 per cent during the second wave, did pose a dilemma even on running the State.
Moreover, the recent CAG report has been critical of the State's financial management and stated that the government was playing with numbers and fiscal parameters to project a comfortable feeling. The State's outstanding debt at the end of the financial year 2020 was at an alarming Rs 23,473 crore. The challenge here is to devise strategies to combat the rising debt, enhance revenue streams and turn the figures into surplus.
At a time where the State is treading dangerously towards a debt trap, the need has been on judicious use of resources and austerity. With the economy still limping on account of the pain inflicted by Covid and a flicker of uncertainty in the background over the emergence of Omicron, it would still be early to conclude that the State is heading towards recovery and normalcy.
At this hour promising unemployment doles and providing easy money not only sets unhealthy precedence but could lead to other social complications that will not help the cause. On this count, it would make better sense in devising schemes that link rewards to jobs, or schemes that open up job avenues. The unemployment dole proposed twice during the Manohar Parrikar regime -- in 2012 and 2018 failed to take off over fears that it could lead to encouraging unemployment rather than helping to resolve it.
Under these gloomy fiscal conditions, these tempting financial doles don’t fit into the reality of the moment and only provide a feel-good illusion. It’s time parties get real to Goa’s situation and prioritize revenue generation rather than focusing on spending.
