Express News Service
DEHRADUN: In the run-up to the 2022 Assembly elections in Uttarakhand, all political parties are promising freebies, welfare schemes and development projects without taking into account the state’s fiscal health. According to the 2019-20 report of Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Uttarakhand has a debt of Rs 65,982 crore, a huge jump from Rs 39,069 crore in 2015-16.
In a bid to expand his party’s footprints nationally, AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal has promise Rs 1,000 per month to every woman above the age of 18 years age in Uttarakhand. This will roughly entail an expenditure of Rs 4,500 crore per month while AAP’s promise of Rs 4,000 per month to the jobless youths will require Rs 4,800 crore. Similarly, the Congress promise to carve out nine new districts will require money. One district alone will need resources worth Rs 1,000 crore, according to various estimates.
The BJP dispensation, in its bid to retain power, has opened its purse strings with Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami alone making 300-plus announcements. These include the milk price incentive scheme that will cost Rs 444 crore and the plan to transfer money to Class 10 and 12 students of government schools for buying tablets. With 1.6 lakh students enlisted, the scheme will cost Rs 2,035 crore in the current year. Similarly, the Mukhyamantri Ghasiyari Yojana and various infrastructure projects will require thousands of crores.
So, where will the money come from to continue these schemes and implement new ones? “The voter knows which announcement is just a farce and which can be implemented. The parties must also tell the voters from where they will get the money,” said political commentator Anoop Nautiyal.
Fiscal data from the state government indicates its earning is far less than the expenditure. The expense incurred towards salary alone is Rs 14,951 crore while Rs 6,297 crore is spent on pensions. On the other hand, the government earnings in 2018-19 stood at Rs 12,188 crore, which declined to Rs 11,513 crore in 2019-2020 and further to Rs 10,791 crore in 2020-21.
BK Joshi, a Dehradun-based economist, said, “The fiscal health of the government must be taken into account while announcing such projects. The money needs to be arranged from somewhere. So, the government must minimise debts and increase earnings.”
