Eye on polls: Punjab on sop spree

The Punjab government has entered election mode as it announces sops for all at the fag end of its term, despite the precarious financial situation of the state.

The massive recruitment drive to the police force, mass appointments of teachers in government schools, including new communities to the backward class list and giving approval in principle to reducing VAT in the state, are some of the ways in which the BJP-Akali alliance government is trying to win over voters.

Recently, the state government gave appointment letters to 369 teachers to government schools. The teachers were given the appointment letters at a function presided over by state education minister Daljeet Singh Cheema, who said that Punjab would soon hand appointment letters to 6,050 master cadre teachers and 2,005 ETT teachers by completing the recruitment process before October 15.

Similarly, the state government carried out a massive police recruitment drive, after which it was reported that the number of drug addicts in Punjab were far less than claimed many, since a drug test was mandatory for all who participated in the recruitment drive.

The Punjab government has also come to an understanding with a prominent Australian university to provide training to sportspersons in different disciplines in order to make them competative at a global level.

Furthermore, the Punjab Cabinet approved the inclusion of Gosiicy/Goswami, Yadav/Aahir and Rabari communities to the list of backward classes.

In another significant decision, the Punjab government decided to extend the “Bhagat Puran Singh Sehat Beema Yojna” to provide health insurance to 40 lakh farmers, traders and labourers. This policy, which began in November 2015, was to expire on October 31, 2016, but the Cabinet gave its nod to extend this policy from November 1, 2016 to October 31, 2017.

The government has also initiated the process for recovering Rs 50 per quintal from private sugar mills. The government also approved the proposal of the agriculture department to ensure the recovery of `213 crore from private sugar mills to pay outstanding dues to farmers.

The state would pay the remaining Rs 112 crore to farmers as a stop-gap arrangement.

According to estimates, around 65 per cent of the state’s revenue is already being spent on paying salaries and pensions. The government’s salary bill rises by about Rs 2,000 crore every year.

There are reportedly more than 4 lakh government employees and pensioners, apart from 1.25 lakh staff at various government boards and corporations.

The question being asked is whether the state government has the required resources to deal with the impending financial burden.