M A I N   N E W S

In poll yr, Hooda in ‘please-all’ mode
Geetanjali Gayatri
Tribune News Service

Racing against time The govt is racing against time to please virtually every section before code of conduct comes into force A slew of announcements is in the offing at party’s August 24 Panipat rally A Cabinet meeting to ratify the announcements has been called a day after

Chandigarh, August 20
Three months, nine Cabinet meetings, 40 big decisions and still counting — the Haryana government, in a poll overdrive mode, is a government in a rush. It is racing against time in an effort to please virtually every section before the model code of conduct comes into force.

From regularising services of employees to increasing cash awards for sportspersons, setting up a board for hair-dressers to announcing new social security schemes or revising allowances under them, providing a two-year extension in service to government employees or revising the toll policy to provide concessions, employment to sportspersons and an eight to 15-fold increase in ex gratia for Central para-millitary forces, Class I status to Haryana Civil Medical service doctors and a six-month maternity leave for women contractual employees — you name it and the government seems to have done it.

The government has already held three Cabinet meetings in the last three weeks while the fourth is slated for August 25. As it goes about doling sops to various sections and getting the stamp of the Cabinet, another slew of announcements is in the offing at party’s August 24 Panipat rally. A Cabinet meeting to ratify the announcements has been called a day after.

The government has, at its meetings, touched practically every section, announcing, among others, exemption of stamp duty in transfer of property to blood relations, exempting autorickshaw drivers from passenger tax, regularising Haryana Roadways employees, increasing honorarium to sarpanches, mayors and councilors and tax relief under VAT.

Sources maintain that the government is expected to loosen its purse strings even further at the rally with an eye on election without going into the nitty-gritty of the liability the earlier and the expected announcements entail.

While the Congress government goes about its business of wooing the various sections, the Opposition believes, in doing so, the government is only leaving behind a tough legacy for the next government to handle.

"The debt burden was about Rs 23,400 crores when the Congress government took over in the state over nine years back. Now, it stands at nearly Rs 80,000 crores. These announcements will not translate into votes if that is what they are expecting. Besides, the government knows it is not coming to power again. Consequently, fulfilling their promises will become the responsibility of the new government that assumes charge," says Indian National Lok Dal state president Ashok Arora, adding that they had made no attempt to even calculate the additional burden since these would remain on paper only.

Sources in the Finance Department, however, say that there is still scope for more announcements and the state is well within the debt limit prescribed by the Planning Commission.

"The debt burden has to be within 20 per cent of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP). Our GSDP at present is about Rs 4 lakh crores while our limit is about Rs 80,000 crores. There is still scope to accommodate more announcements", an official said.

"Besides, in the election year, practically every government has been in overdrive mode as far as announcements go. It means additional burden only to the extent that asset creation slows down and nothing more. We are well within our limits and capable of fulfilling the promises being made by the government," he said.

Sources, however, confirmed that no calculations had so far been made about the actual cost of the recent announcements made by the government since these happened in quick succession.