Govt’s subsidy measures draw mixed reactions ahead of polls
Ahead of the Rajasthan assembly elections, chief minister Ashok Gehlot-led government has introduced several subsidies worth ₹44,750 crore to provide people relief from inflation.
These subsidies have drawn criticism from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who claimed they would bankrupt the state and country.
One such recent announcement by the chief minister is the waiver of electricity bills for the first 100 units.
Middle-class customers will receive free electricity for the first 100 units, with waived fixed charges, fuel surcharge, and other charges for the first 200 units, all covered by the state government, Gehlot announced on Wednesday.
On the CM Free Electricity Scheme, and to provide free 2000 units of agricultural electricity per month to farmers, the state government will be spending around Rs 27000 crore.
The implementation of the schemes, along with other relief measures such as the Chiranjeevi Health Scheme and the Indira Gandhi Gas Subsidy Scheme, is expected to cost the state exchequer approximately Rs 44,750 crore. These schemes, including subsidies on electricity, gas cylinders, increased pensions, and free ration kits, have been announced Interestingly, Gehlot’s announcement came shortly after Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a scathing attack on the ruling Congress party in Rajasthan during his visit to Ajmer.
While the CM stated that the changes in the slab-wise waiver on electricity bills came based on the feedback received, the Prime Minister in Ajmer on Wednesday said, “The Congress gives guarantees which, if implemented, will leave the state and country bankrupt. This is Congress’s vision and policy. People of Rajasthan should be wary of Congress’s vision.”
Political analyst Manish Godha said the bugle of assembly elections has sounded in Rajasthan, and the electricity subsidy is another master stroke of Gehlot.
“In the last four and a half years, the government has implemented many big schemes in the state, such as Chiranjeevi Health Insurance Scheme and Indira Rasoi, food at Rs 8 per plate. Certainly, such schemes do help people financially, especially with the rising inflation. But adds a burden to the government. The pros and cons are debatable, but for the time being, it is welcoming and relief the experts believe this is not a good trend to be set up looking to the economy,” Godha said.
Economists support subsidies for the poor but caution against overreliance on them and emphasize the need for a balanced approach.
Nisar Ahmad, the director of the Budget Analysis and Research Center, said that subsidies do impact the state’s exchequer and questioned whether the government has sufficient revenue to cover the costs.
“The financial data of the last three years of the Rajasthan government shows an increase in revenue. The actual revenue collection projected by the government is less than claimed, and similar is the situation of the expenditure- this works for the government.”
He added, “In real terms, it is not a healthy trend, but such subsidies are unavoidable in sectors such as health and education. We are not against the subsidy, but it should be balanced and certainly not be done looking to the elections.”
Amid these developments, the inflation relief camps organized by the state government are witnessing high participation and benefiting millions of families.
The people are taking benefits of 10 public welfare schemes of the state government.
Till Wednesday evening, more than 60 million guarantee cards have been distributed in the camps, while more than 10 million families have benefited from these camps so far.
According to the data received till Wednesday evening, 4.7 million in Indira Gandhi Gas Cylinder Subsidy Scheme, 7.8 million in Chief Minister’s Free Domestic Electricity Scheme, 900,000 in Chief Minister’s Free Agricultural Electricity Scheme and 8.7 million in Chief Minister’s Free Annapurna Food Packet Scheme.
More than 5.4 million registered in the Chief Minister Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and 404,000 in the Indira Gandhi Urban Employment Guarantee Scheme.
Similarly, 4.3 million registrations were completed in Social Security Pension Scheme, 8 million in Chief Minister Kamdhenu Insurance Scheme, over 10 million in Chief Minister Chiranjeevi Health Insurance Scheme and more than 10 million in Chief Minister Chiranjeevi Accident Insurance Scheme.
Leader of Opposition in Rajasthan Assembly Rajendra Rathore on Thursday said that with the elections round the corner, the public will not fall for such sudden announcements by a party which looted them for years.
Leader of Opposition in the Rajasthan Assembly, Rajendra Rathore said in a tweet that CM Gehlot was so impressed by PM Modi’s address that he was forced to announce relief late at night.
“After looting the public for 4 and a half years, now as soon as the election year approaches, the public will not be fooled by your sudden announcement of waiving fuel surcharge and other charges in electricity bills. There is a flaw in both your policy and intention”, LoP Rathore tweeted.
He added, “This is the limit, the Congress government, which collected an average of 55 paise per unit fuel surcharge from electricity consumers for 4 and a half years, is now doing a gimmick of waiving fuel surcharge up to 200 units. While the fuel surcharge in the previous BJP government was just 18 paise per unit on average. When the entrepreneurs are on strike due to the increase in fuel surcharge, then why are the industrial units not waiving the fuel surcharge?”