Beyond Budget Provisions
In his column in GK on 27th February, Mr Haseeb A. Drabu has rightly drawn attention to the fact that the J&K Reorganization Act, 2019 has not only disempowered the government of Jammu and Kashmir but also its legislative assembly. However, the hint in his column that the Chief Minister has crossed the line of bravado in declaring the forthcoming budget as people’s budget was rather misplaced, if he really meant it. Quite coincidentally, the Chief Minister on the same day or a day earlier had stated in an interview that UT’s with assembly must never be there in the political and administrative system of this country because it is not fair to the people of those UTs who elect the assemblies with high hopes but then have to make do with disempowered assemblies and governments. And that, if at all a territory has to be a UT, it must be without assembly or else it should be a full fledged state. CM’s dissatisfaction with the arrangement in Jammu and Kashmir post reorganization and downgrading to UT status, came through loud and clear in that interview.
Be that as it may, once part of a system, one has to do the best and get the best out of the situation one is in. It is not expected of a Chief Minister to demoralize his people by declaring that the forthcoming budget will be a no go. Budget is budget irrespective of the powers of the LG and if due diligence has been done, it is unlikely that the LG will shoot down people friendly proposals. Moreover it would have been better to await the forthcoming assembly session to see what proposals and provisions are there in the budget, before passing a verdict.
Mr Drabu’s reiteration of the budget arithmetic in J&K is, however, not misplaced. Here, he has rightly drawn attention to huge establishment bill, debt servicing and J&K’s own limited contribution to the revenues apart from its legitimate share from the central taxes and central kitty and own borrowings. Own limited contribution to revenues is an area where all previous governments can be held to account for not even having attempted a course correction. Low collection of taxes, fees, charges etc., within Jammu and Kashmir has not only impacted our welfare and development efforts over the years but also brought a bad name to our state. The CM needs to rise above the usual pulls and pressures and whining by the colleagues or opposition and has to demonstrate strong leadership in this regard. We cannot afford to continue with the habit of wanting to ‘eat the cake and have it too’.
And it is not the case of ‘not having the capacity to pay.’ As an example, the average amount spent in the markets on an Eid is often reported to be around 600 to 700 crore or more which includes a few hundred crore withdrawn from the ATMs within a day or two, while our government’s annual electricity purchases for household sector in Kashmir division alone is touching 4000 crore which we as consumers don’t pay up fully. So, if we as a small society can spend around 700 crore or more for a single day of festivities, can we not pay 4000 crore over 12 months @ 333 crore per month and @ 2500 per household per month (average) for the electricity that we consume and cherish so much for our day to day living? If some sections among poor households need to be subsidized, that should be done. But others should pay up and government must ensure collection. Why is it that J&K has the highest transmission and distribution (T&D) losses in the country, around 50% or less, most of which is power theft.
A similar situation is there in cities, towns and villages. The municipal corporations, councils have to collect fees and charges from the residents and others using municipal facilities. But there is much laxity in this because there is leakage. Even in this digital age, we in J&K have not been able to create foolproof systems of determination of the levies and collection. This weakness in levying and collection of fees and charges is the major cause of poor municipal governance apart from ineptitude of those working in these institutions.
Panchayats have also not done well in the villages notwithstanding the highly acknowledged Panchayati Raj Act. It is mainly because of deficiencies in creating own resources and building capacities and lack of awareness of the residents as well as the Panchas and the Sarpanchas about their respective duties and responsibilities.
Budget has not only to make the common man the most important beneficiary of the various policies and programs but also make him or her the most important stake holder in its implementation. The common man is never told in clear terms what his or her role is in the implementation. This can be achieved only through full transparency about the revenues and expenditure down to the village level. Budget at finger tips, ‘app’ on the mobile phone should be accessible to every resident of J&K to lay bare before him or her in clear terms what is there for him or her, his and her village, mohalla, colony, town or city.
Mr Drabu’s emphasis on rural economy, agriculture and horticulture is also correct. The resilience of Jammu and Kashmir’s rural economy makes it among the least poor states in the country (state downgraded to UT). The UT government must therefore lay highest emphasis on strengthening the rural economy and pursue policies to discourage migration of rural people to urban areas. This can be realized if infrastructure, both physical and digital, is strengthened in rural areas and youngsters enabled to become part of the knowledge and digital economy while staying back in their own homes in villages and towns. Same goes for artisans, craftsmen and craftswomen. The value chain activities located in rural areas and small towns should be enabled to continue in their existing locations and only the upstream and downstream value chain activities for vertical integration can be outside these areas. Policies in the government have to be formulated and implemented accordingly.
Then there is the issue of climate change and environmental degradation. While measures to counter environmental degradation are within the scope of the local governments, climate change is a global issue. In respect of climate change, the local government can not shy away from formulating schemes that help to mitigate and adapt to climate change impact. One does not see much happening at the UT level. More time is spent in issuing permissions under the Forest Act and other Environmental laws like Pollution control Act etc. Implementation of ban on plastics and polythene is non-existent. Similarly, one cannot see anywhere in J&K, modern systems in place using new technologies for safe disposal, recycling or waste to energy. Collection of plastic and other non-biodegradable waste is done in routine manner leaving much to be desired since we still find dumps of waste strewn all over, both in rural and urban areas.
Lastly, the new governance paradigm viz ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) needs to be made the mantra of administration to promote and achieve the shared values of the government, its agencies and the people.
Budget is an instrument of policy, perhaps the most important. It not only decides how the resources of the government are to be spent, it also identifies the ways and means of collection of revenues and creation of resources for the future. Quite often it falters in detailing out the implementation plan and the role and responsibilities of the implementing authorities and agencies. This is a weakness. The bigger weakness is keeping the common man out. So, unless common people and communities are made part of implementation, budgets are unlikely to achieve their objectives. This is a big challenge for any government.
Khurshid Ahmed Ganai is a retired IAS officer of erstwhile J&K cadre and a former Advisor to the Governor
