Congress govt in Telangana riding on riders, free bus ride is just an aside
The govt, which has not clarified as to who all are eligible for each of the six guarantees, has sought the ration card and Aadhar number in the Praja Palana application form.
HYDERABAD: Mouthwatering platitudes were doled out by the Congress party on the eve of 2023 Assembly elections in Telangana. Beginning with their flagship schemes of six guarantees - which, in reality, are much more than six in number, the Congress party put out a manifesto with over 420 promises.
However, not very surprisingly, the party after getting elected to power, is coming up with innumerable riders on the conditions that would apply.
The fine print has always been hidden for the six guarantees.
Though the government is boisterously going gaga about the implementation of free bus travel for women and enhancement of Arogya Sri limit to Rs.10 lakh as though they had already made two of the six guarantees operational, they are making effort to push the other important points in the heads of these two guarantees under the carpet.
The government, which has not clarified as to who all are eligible for each of the six guarantees, has sought the ration card and Aadhar number in the Praja Palana application form.
Interestingly, the biggest rider the government has come up with is the filling of eKYC norms for ration cards. As many as 75 percent of cardholders completed the eKYC updation. The government cleverly extended the deadline for updation from January 31 to February 29. This means the people can complete the eKYC registration till the end of this month.
It’s only after this that the government would be able to assess the total number of genuine ration cards.
It’s only after ascertaining this number that the government would open up the application process for the new ration cards.
With this rider, the government can buy a lot of time to execute the schemes.
Meanwhile the Election Notification and Model Code of Conduct for Lok Sabha elections would come into force.
This would naturally delay the process until May-end or June.
Besides, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy at a press conference after the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee meeting on Tuesday said that there was a need to elect Rahul Gandhi as the Prime Minister. In the same breath, he remarked: ”For the 100 percent implementation of all the schemes announced by the Congress party, a Congress government should come to power at the Centre.”
He apparently put this rider to hint to the people of Telangana that all the schemes the party had promised before the 2023 Assembly elections would not be implemented fully, if the party didn’t come to power at the Centre.
Free bus ride scheme
First of all, the Congress banked heavily on the back-of-the-envelope calculation for making the promise of free bus travel for women. It, despite being in the opposition, did not work backwards keeping the debt-ridden TSRTC’s bleeding exchequer in view. It appears that the party also did not obtain the actual numbers that are staring like the skeletons that tumbled out of the proverbial cupboard.
The books of the RTC are actually in the red. The corporation is financially asphyxiated and is unable to keep the wolf at the door for many decades.
As much as Rs.3,000 crore burden would be cast on the State exchequer to implement the scheme. As it is, the RTC is due a whopping Rs.6,000 crore to employees in the form of Contributory Pension Scheme with interest, PF arrears, DA arrears, etc.
The free bus ride to women doesn’t alone amount to implementing one of the six guarantees.
The Mahalakshmi scheme, of which the free bus ride is an integral part, encompasses other schemes including, Rs. 2,500 each to women, a gas cylinder at a cost of Rs.500.
However, these things have been linked to the Praja Palana application form. The Praja Palana application form has also sought the ration card number of the applicants.
Also Read: Mahalakshmi scheme: TSRTC sees 40 percent spike in footfall, to procure 2,500 buses
Over 1.25 crore applications were received during the Praja Palana drive that ran for 9 days up to January 6, 2024.
The ‘Rythu Bharosa’ scheme envisages Rs. 15,000 per acre for farmers, and tenant farmers every year and Rs. 12,000 per year for agriculture labour.
For the process of identifying the tenant farmers, a lot of changes have to be done for “Dharani” portal and the asset owners would have to register the tenancy deeds, which most farmers in Telangana would not agree to. Meanwhile, the State Government had constituted a committee to probe into the Dharani portal issues to make an all-new “Bhoomatha” portal with more entries and enhanced scope.
There is no mechanism to establish the identity of the farm labourers. A bonus of Rs. 500 per year for paddy crop is also part of this for which a farmer or tenant has to register the crop and its extent.
The ‘Gruha Jyothi’ scheme covers 200 units of free electricity to every “eligible” household. There is no clarity on the eligibility criterion. Mostly it will be based on the income limits and ration card would become the basis for this.
The ‘Indiramma Indlu’ provides 250 sq yards of plot for all Telangana agitation fighters. The details of the cases registered against individuals who had participated in the separate Telangana agitation are said to be taken as the benchmark for identifying the agitators. How about those against whom cases were not registered, but still they took an active part in the agitation?.
This apart, house sites and Rs. 5 lakh for people not having their own house would be given and the beneficiary would be identified based on the income limit, which has yet to be clarified.
The “Yuha Vikasam” includes “Vidya Bharosa” card worth Rs 5 lakh for students. However, the finer details of the eligibility, students pursuing education in which class, and the income limits of their respective parents have yet to be defined.
The establishment of Telangana International Schools in every mandal would be a government programme that might be initiated in a phased manner.
‘Cheyutha’ scheme provides Rs. 4,000 monthly pension for senior citizens. This again is related to the ration cards to find the income of the beneficiaries.
The government has, however, enforced the enhancement of Rs 10 lakh under the Rajiv Arogya Sri. This is the only guarantee that has fully come into force.
Therefore, the Congress government is riding on the back of the riders it has created to delay or avoid the implementation of the schemes, including six guarantees.