4 months ago
2
With Tamil Nadu going to Assembly polls successful April-May, AIADMK wide caput Edappadi K. Palaniswami precocious made immoderate promises. He announced an enlargement of the monthly assistance strategy for women, promising to supply ₹2,000 per period to the pistillate head of each ration card-holding family; and the enlargement of the escaped question scheme, which is presently constricted to women, to screen men arsenic well. Mr. Palaniswami termed the promises arsenic the “first dose”, with much to beryllium made successful the manifesto.
In response, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) authorities deployed 2 Ministers — S. Regupathy and T.R.B. Rajaa — to criticise Mr. Palaniswami for having “copied the palmy schemes” of the government. Mr. Rajaa, who is besides a subordinate of the DMK’s predetermination manifesto committee, said that the state would crook its attraction to the DMK’s manifesto erstwhile it was out, “as was the lawsuit successful the past.” Indeed, Mr. Palaniswami’s announcement whitethorn punctual the DMK to travel retired with galore different assurances astatine a clip erstwhile the State authorities is struggling to prolong its payment and populist schemes. As the Election Commission of India is expected to denote the canvass docket successful precocious February, the incumbent authorities has clip to motorboat much populist schemes.
If the AIADMK chief’s 2 offers are implemented, it would mean an further load of ₹40,000 crore annually. In different words, these 2 components unsocial would beryllium astir 11% of the projected gross receipts of the State for 2026-27. There is simply a qualitative quality betwixt the DMK’s Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thittam, which provides ₹1,000, and the AIADMK’s projected scheme, Kula Vilakku Thittam, which volition connection ₹2,000. While the archetypal strategy covers 1.3 crore radical due to the fact that of immoderate conditions, the 2nd volition see 2.23 crore. In addition, this year’s estimated expenditure for the escaped autobus thrust is ₹3,600 crore. Its expanded sum would treble the subsidy bill.
For astir 15 years, until the mid-2000s, the 2 parties had a antithetic attack portion they were successful power. As economical reforms were unveiled successful 1991, the AIADMK and the DMK favoured greater abstraction for the backstage sector, shrinking the relation of the authorities and its enterprises, and experimenting with the gradual simplification of subsidies. In 2002-03, the AIADMK authorities led by Jayalalithaa withdrew escaped powerfulness proviso for farmers and fixed a two-slab pricing strategy for atom supplied done the nationalist organisation system. However, she rolled backmost these schemes erstwhile her enactment performed disastrously successful the 2004 wide elections.
Since then, the DMK and the AIADMK person been aggressively resorting to competitory populism. In 2006, the DMK said that it would trim the terms for atom supplied done PDS uniformly to ₹2 per kg, administer escaped colour tv sets to each ration cardholders, and waive disconnected harvest loans taken done cooperative societies for each categories of farmers. In September 2008, the authorities led by M. Karunanidhi chopped the terms of atom further to ₹1 per kg. In 2011, the AIADMK authorities went 1 measurement further by providing 20 kg of atom escaped for each ration cardholders. It besides supplied a array fan, a mixer, and a grinder arsenic freebies to each pistillate covered by the ration paper system. In May 2016, Jayalalithaa retained power. Since then, astir 2 crore home consumers of energy person been getting escaped powerfulness up to 100 units bimonthly. In 2021, the DMK promised a monthly basal income strategy for women. Those who assertion to beryllium alternatives to the Dravidian majors are besides nary objection to the freebies culture, which seems to person go an all-India phenomenon.
Mr. Palaniswami has not committeed to the restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) for State authorities staff. Yet his promises person caused interest among those who travel the State’s finances, which are nether strain owing to respective home and planetary events. Besides, the DMK authorities announced the Tamil Nadu Assured Pension Scheme, effectual January 1, arsenic a partial fulfilment of its electoral committedness to revert to the OPS. This will, astatine slightest initially, further origin accent to the State’s finances.
With his promises, the AIADMK person appears to person strengthened the hands of advocates of freebies erstwhile helium should person promoted the docket of fiscal prudence instead. This is thing Tamil Nadu needs.
