A similar stance of the Center was seen in the statements of Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in Ludhiana and Mohali...
Diluted politics in the name of flood relief, Editorial: There should be no disputes over relief for flood victims. However, when the governments at the Centre and in a state belong to different political parties, disputes cannot be avoided. This is also happening in the case of Punjab. The Punjab government has estimated the destruction caused by floods in the state at Rs 20,000 crore and demanded that the Centre meet it.
The Central government did not delay in calling this demand unreasonable and asked for a proper calculation. It also said that in addition to the Rs 1,600 crore aid announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi after his visit to the flood-affected areas, the Punjab government can spend the Rs 12,000 crore of NDRF (National Disaster Relief Fund) lying with it as per the provisions of that fund.
These Rs 12,000 crore have been the subject of political wrangling since the day of the Prime Minister's visit (September 9). The Punjab government claims that it never received this amount. On the other hand, the audit reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on Punjab show the presence of this amount. That is why the Bharatiya Janata Party and other political parties have been accusing Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s government of misusing disaster relief funds. The Bhagwant Mann government’s ‘back-footing’ in terms of giving a satisfactory answer to the question of where this amount went is not only giving strength to the opposition’s attacks, but also giving the Central government an excuse to find new excuses every day.
A similar stance of the Center was seen in the statements of Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in Ludhiana and Mohali on Wednesday.
Inaugurating the new administrative building of the Indian Institute of Maize Research in Ludhiana, he announced that the Central Government has released compensation for 36,703 houses in Punjab damaged in the recent floods. Rs 1.20 lakh has been sanctioned for the repair of each house and Rs 40,000 for labour and construction of toilets separately. Similarly, Rs 74 crore has been released for free distribution of wheat seeds and Rs 3.24 crore for mustard seeds. He categorically rejected the allegations that the Centre is delaying the release of compensation or assistance.
He claimed that the sanction letters for compensation were issued within 18 hours of the Punjab Government sending information about the damage to the houses. He also said in a sarcastic tone that ‘what better delay could there be than this?’ The Punjab BJP and other political parties did not waste any time in accusing the Punjab government of incompetence based on these statements of the Union Minister. On the other hand, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party, in response to such defamation, has accused the Central government of adopting an excessively belligerent stance. Such defamation is sure to continue for the next several days. But will this do any good to Punjab?
It is a fact that the Modi government has been adopting a soft stance towards the BJP or NDA-led governments while releasing central assistance, while non-BJP state governments are asked to account for every penny. This attitude is fundamentally wrong. But this kind of politics cannot be stopped. In today's era, politics has become so sophisticated in every corner of the world that even simple social interaction with political opponents is viewed with suspicion. In such an environment, expecting financial generosity from the opponents now seems to be an impractical approach.
Currently, there is not a single state government that is not struggling with a financial crisis. The blame for this lies with them. One-third of the budget of most states is spent on distributing salaries and pensions and another one-third on subsidies and half-hearted fulfillment of election promises. They do not have funds left for education, healthcare, road and industrial development and other such works. In such a situation, the tendency to spend central grants or funds on other works instead of their original purpose is not showing any sign of abating.
This situation provides the Centre with an opportunity to impose ‘fiscal discipline’ i.e. suspend or cancel central grants. This situation is not new for the Punjab government. What is different is that due to such a situation, the common people are actually suffering.
Therefore, the Punjab government is expected to keep its accounts straight. Similarly, the Centre is also expected to rise above political differences and join hands with the flood victims. This is the only effective measure to bring Punjab’s economy back on track.
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