The mid-point of a journey, is essentially a time for a brief pause to re-charge the batteries for onward movement. Train and bus drivers do it, pilots flying on “autopilot” do a quick glance at the dials to check if all is well, Prime Ministers and Chief Ministers move from a period of sowing seeds to reaping an harvest.
However, Goa’s Chief Minister, with a stunning majority mandate, will be happy if he can celebrate his mid-point term by being able to take some deep breaths, have enough to pay next month’s salaries and then have enough water to douse the multiple fires that are igniting from an economy which desperately needs injection. He has a non-implementable loan package for the mining affected but does he have a package for his state.
Let’s get this. An analysis of the Chief Minister’s success in removing corruption, or implementing the Regional Plan or maintaining harmony are points to score and reasons for bones to be picked but while these have been debated ad nauseam to the point of pointless repetition, Mr Parrikar’s single biggest underachievement, has been his spasm oriented approach towards the economy. The spasm oriented approach is this. Every time there is pressure on him to infuse funds for projects, or handle the mining crisis, he rises to make promises, with a “all is well” sign off, till the next spasm.
He has worked with mining companies dangling a promise of lease renewals, and taken money to run his household for the last two years, he has got votes for the crucial South Goa Lok Sabha seat by promising the mining dependent that he would work with the banks to ease their mining loans, he has dangled the figure of Rs 25,000 crores to investors by promising them land and power. Land by doing a back door negotiation with judiciary tainted SEZ promoters to release a part of their land and power by promising 400 MW of power through the states Chattisgarh Coal block. But every time he handles a spasm by coughing out loud, the moment passes with no real solution.
Lease renewals will be useless for mining companies without EC’s and the transporters getting out of their crippling loan crisis, the truck, barge and machinery owners will not touch their machines till the rates of transportation double and most importantly, the Modi government is in no mood to give Goa any preferential treatment, because size does matter, and Goa isn’t big enough. From funds for the Zuari Bridge to Special Status to getting the RBI to agree to a One Time Settlement of mining loans, the Chief Minister’s vain boast of getting decisions on phone hasn’t quite matured.
The facts therefore are as follows; He needs to continuously borrow Rs 1000 crores a year, to service old loans, pay salaries and run the state. He has promised to take care of the mining loan exposure of Rs 1700 crores but how will he do it? The funds earmarked from the E auction of ore, roughly Rs 1500 crores will be diluted to about Rs 1000 crores after funds are allocated to different heads as per the Supreme Court order, and the source of more funds from the mining companies is drying up.
At this point of time the Chief Minister is playing two games. One he wants to make this an individual sport like tennis, knocking the ball in the other court, rather than a team sport like football. He wants to do this alone. It is a fact that while the mining policy is supposedly going to be out on September 15, “not even the first alphabet has been inked”, according to a senior industry source.
His rule has therefore been marked by classic procrastination as opposed to indecision. He has made, not taking action on things like Regional Plan, his style of functioning. If the Congress rule was marked with divide and rule, Parrikar’s term is that of avoid and rule. When forced, a spasm reaction happens, like pushing the Regional Plan to a house committee
Parrikar needs to work with a team, get more heads on the thinking table and not allow policy and decision paralysis to happen when he leaves even for a personal holiday. And we say this with responsibility. Not a single minister or bureaucrat has the power or confidence to take decisions to meet crucial deadlines unless it is Parrikar driven and sanctioned. The casualty has been Goa’s economy. As former British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli said “there can be economy where there is efficiency”.
At half time, Manohar Parrikar needs a new narrative of Governance – Economy first, above all else.
