Congress’ poll guarantees to bleed Haryana’s finances further

The Congress’ guarantees of enhancing social security pensions, making LPG cylinder available at Rs 500, and providing a monthly allowance to all women in the age group of 18-60 to attract women and poor households are set to strain Haryana’s finances further if the party comes to power in the Assembly elections.

These guarantees are part of seven promises that the party announced today as a part of its pre-manifesto announcements. Haryana’s finances are in the red, with the state’s debt expected to reach Rs 3.18 lakh crore in 2024-25, according to Budget Estimates.

Currently, old-age pension, pension for widows and the handicapped, and other social security pensions are fixed at Rs 3,000 per month, costing the state Rs 10,971 crore with over 31.51 lakh beneficiaries, as per the Budget for 2024-25. Doubling these pensions to Rs 6,000 per month, as the Congress has promised, could cost the state roughly Rs 20,000 crore annually.

The Congress, which has been out of power in the state for a decade, also announced that it would provide domestic LPG cylinders at Rs 500. However, Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini had already announced this in August for PM Ujjwala Yojana beneficiaries and pointed out that it would benefit 46 lakh families across the state with an annual income of less than Rs 1.80 lakh.

Calculating the burden on the exchequer, this comes to roughly Rs 1,600 crore per annum, assuming Rs 300 as a state subsidy on each cylinder and that each family gets 12 cylinders.

In addition, the Congress promised that upon forming the government, all women aged between 18 and 60 years would receive an honorarium of Rs 2,000 per month. This initiative is expected to place a substantial burden on the exchequer, and the actual cost could be determined after the party specifies eligibility criteria. Even with 70 lakh women, this would cost nearly Rs 16,800 crore.

Earlier, the party had announced Rs 1,500 for all women in the 18-60 age group in the run-up to the Assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh in 2022. Deep in financial distress, the Congress-led government in that state is yet to fulfil this promise.

“We have calculated the financial implications of each guarantee, and only then they were approved by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge. The guarantees have undergone extensive deliberations in committees and sub-committees before reaching their final form. Allowances for women aged 18-60 are being provided in several states now, including Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Delhi. We are going to exclude income taxpayers,” said former state Education Minister Geeta Bhukkal, head of the Congress manifesto committee.

Providing 300 units of power per month to all domestic consumers in the state will impose an additional subsidy burden of approximately Rs 7,000 crore. The projected revenue for the current financial year from domestic consumers in Haryana is Rs 8,765 crore, and 80 per cent of billed customers consume up to 300 units of power.

“It is not sustainable. It will have significant monetary implications and will affect capital expenditure. However, the devil lies in the details. During implementation, they will devise eligibility criteria to reduce the number of beneficiaries,” said Prof Aswini Nanda, Head of the Department of Economics at the Central University of Jammu.

Party’s freebies

• The Congress has promised LPG cylinders for Rs 500 and monthly Rs 2,000 to every woman between 18-60 years
• To strengthen social security, the party has promised a Rs 6,000 per month pension for the elderly, disabled, and widows
• The party also promised to provide 300 units of free electricity to households

Empty promises, says BJP

• Terming the Congress’ manifesto as empty election promises, Satish Punia, BJP Haryana incharge, today alleged that the party was expert in going back on its poll promises
• In a statement issued here, Punia alleged that Congress’ seven guarantees and 15 election promises was aimed at misleading state’s electorate. In fact, the poll manifesto has exposed Congress’ real face before the general public, Punia alleged
• Om Prakash Dhankar, chairman of BJP’s Election Manifesto Committee, alleged that since people had lost trust in the Congress, its election promises would not cut much ice with the voters