news details |
|
|
| J&K’s finances in sorry state | | |
Early Times Special
JAMMU, August 15: The state of Jammu & Kashmir lives on charity and it is the Central Government’s generosity that keeps it afloat. It spends many times more than it earns, year after year, and the Central Government keeps on underwriting its deficit. This becomes clear when one goes through the speech of the Chief Minister, Mr Omar Abdullah, made on the eve of Independence Day.
For its four lakh employees, the government has to spend Rs 7,100 crore towards salaries and other allied expenses every year. For buying power from available resources and providing the same to the citizens, it spends Rs 2,200 crore per annum.
Therefore, the state government spends at least Rs 9,300 crore per annum on just two heads, salaries and power purchased. Besides, it also spends hundreds of crores on development activities like construction of roads and buildings etc.
How much does it earn from all resources? In other words, what is the annual income of the state? According to the CM, the government can earn only Rs 4,330 crore per annum from all available resources.
For some time now, the state government employees have been demanding full implementation of 6th pay commission recommendations. The government has already agreed, in principle, to implement these recommendations and this will cost Rs 1,600 crore per annum.
In August, the employees will get their enhanced salaries based on the new pay panel. But they have been agitating for the payment of arrears and they want these arrears to be paid here and now.
The state government has categorically refused to accept this demand arguing that it does not have the necessary funds to do so. Of course, it has already decided to urge the Central government to show generosity, as in the past, and give funds for paying these arrears.
Now, a question that comes to the mind is the quantum of these arrears. The CM says the government owes the employees a whopping Rs 4,300 crore in arrears. Incidentally, we know now that Rs 4,330 crore per annum is the government’s total income from all sources.
Let us discuss the power purchase bill of the state which stands at Rs 2,200 crore per annum. The citizens pay only Rs 700 crore as power bills and the loss on this purchase alone thus runs into Rs 1,500 crore.
According to officials, the loss on account of power purchase is mainly due to the fact that almost 67 per cent of the power is lost in transmission and distribution (T&D). This is a blatant lie as most of it is stolen, with both passive, and active, connivance of the Power Development Department (PDD) staff.
What is the government doing to improve collections for the power supplied? Are any efforts being made to change the revenue generation methods to bring down the deficit? Yes, cosmetic changes like introduction of digital meters in select areas have been introduced. This is expected to bring in some money but the main thrust for meeting this deficit is to urge the Centre to give more funds.
The Central Government even gave Rs 3,900 crore over a period of three years for bringing in power reforms but nothing seems to have changed. This fund has also been utilized here, there and everywhere but not on improving the efficiency of revenue realization machinery of the PDD.
Incidentally, the ratio of the government employees to the population in the state is one of the highest in the nation. In better governed states like Gujarat, there are only 90,000 employees for every one crore population. The number of government employees in J&K, by that yardstick, is almost five times higher. Can we thus say that any work done by one government employee in Gujarat is done by five employees in J&K?
Well, Independence Day is a day reserved for celebrations but what have we been celebrating? The mediocrity of the average government staff in J&K, the profligacy we collectively show in managing our finances and such other things.
A statement of income and expenditure of the state government thus shows clearly that it is a classic example of bad economics. For every penny that it spends, the state has to look towards the Central Government. Of course, bad economics often makes for good politics and this is doubly true in case of J&K.
If indeed one wants to look for signs of optimism and positive vibes through these gloomy figures, one can always say that we spend and the Centre pays!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
