The statement made by Satish Sharma, Minister Incharge of Food, Civil Supplies, and Consumer Affairs claiming that the proposal to provide 12 free gas cylinders to people in Jammu and Kashmir is currently under examination has undeniably kindled hope among the people as it is expected that this decision could help in overcoming the difficulties they are facing due to skyrocketing inflation. There is no doubt in the fact that such announcements help in rejuvenating aspirations of the concerned population. Through this statement, the government has once again tried to convince people that it will take unprecedented steps in J&K to ameliorate the condition of the people especially the underprivileged as already the process of providing two hundred units of electricity free to people living in poverty is underway. For sure, the proposal by the Jammu and Kashmir government to provide 12 free LPG cylinders and free electricity to economically weaker sections will go a long way in alleviating the hardships of the population but with this decision, there comes the issue of financial implications. The government could face trouble because such freebies require extra share from the exchequer, forcing the helmsmen to divert or siphon revenue and resources meant for other key sectors including medical care, civic edifice, employment and education. It is a hard fact that if things will not be managed appropriately chances are there that such ‘extravaganza’ may hit the normal functioning of government as over three decades of turmoil has turned the region quite fragile as far as economy is concerned.
It is pertinent to mention that the promise to provide 12 cylinders free of cost every year to Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) of the society in J&K was originally made in the manifesto of National Conference for 2014 UT polls. Reportedly in November last year, Satish Sharma had said the formal announcement on providing 12 gas cylinders a year to the people of J&K will be made shortly.
It is easy to promise such bounties but very difficult to overcome challenges which are likely to confront the people sitting at helm because such steps could even dwindle the budget making such deals unsustainable. It is to be seen that while these measures may be politically appealing, the government must go for a trade-off by carefully crafting things as ensuring a balance between providing such a relief to the people and caring for long-term economic health of the region is vital.
