By Subash Deb
Like most other states, Meghalaya has begun to witness fewer Covid19 positive cases. With vaccination programme currently underway and increased number of recoveries being reported daily, there is a sense of relief and hope that life will slowly but surely spring back to normalcy in the state. Thanks to the efforts put in by the doctors, health workers, frontline warriors and the Government functionaries that those alive now can resume their lives and if needed start afresh.
With over 25 lakh population in the state, life hasn’t been hunky-dory for all and sundry, or else migration of indigenous population to other states for better education and opportunities would have been lesser. On top of that, the Covid pandemic has left many broke and without gainful employment. Adding to the woes are the pandemic-battered returnees to the state who are now jobless and uncertain about their future. I acknowledge that I should mind my words. But the fact remains that the returnees, their family members and neighbours have voted the MDA-led coalition Government to power with some expectations and hopes of change in terms of job creation, peace and development. So if the citizens of the state are looking to the Government for help and support in such uncertain times, it is incumbent on the Government to answer to their cries.
To be fair, challenges before the Meghalaya Government are humongous as far as jump-starting the economy is concerned. The immediate one is to get the economy back on track. As a matter of fact, much of the economic crisis isn’t pandemic-induced only. Rather, the state has been reeling under economic downturn since pre-pandemic times. The pandemic, no doubt, is the last straw to break the people’s back, mostly those living from hand to mouth including daily wage labourers, taxi drivers, street vendors, and others. No wonder some of them could be looking for alternative avenues of income to eke out a living.
Despite the Conrad Sangma-led MDA Government presenting a deficit budget for FY 2020-21, the Government has pulled out all stops to extend financial assistance to the needy during the lockdown. Hats off! However, the paradox of the proverbial living in interesting times is that the appreciation goes as long as the dole lasts. Fair enough!
The recent state-wide strike called by the Meghalaya Joint Action Committee of Commercial Vehicles demanding revision of taxi fares and reduction of taxes on fuel is a testimony to the economic pain caused by the pandemic-induced lockdown. The spiraling prices of petrol and diesel over the last few days have taken a huge toll on the transport operators across the country. By not allowing revision of taxi fares to offset the high fuel prices, the Government is in a sense bringing their crises to a head. To wit, retail prices of fuel are totaled by subsuming central and state taxes and dealer commission. As much as 70 per cent of the end cost of petrol and diesel are taxes and dealer commissions; only 30 per cent is linked to the benchmark cost of production. The transporters are also well-justified in seeking relief from the state component of fuel taxes during these harsh times.
India is a welfare state. The Meghalaya Government at the moment should be concerned with directing the resources to the people most in need. By being indifferent to their demands, the Government is attempting at creating an anti-poor, or rather anti-people image that it will never be able to live down during its remaining tenure.
It won’t be inappropriate to state here that Meghalaya is yet to have a strategy in place to bring about macro-economic stability. Its fiscal deficit continues to remain beyond the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management target of 3 per cent. The pandemic-driven gloom and doom year can at best provide a face-saving alibi for failure to create avenues for generating decent revenues other than coal mining, the ban on which since 2014 was lifted by the Supreme Court in 2019.
The once-booming and revenue-earning tourism industry of Meghalaya is biting the dust engendered by uncertain times. Tourism entrepreneurs who have been upbeat about their business prospects on the back of the entrepreneur-friendly Chief Minister’s vision to foster a culture of entrepreneurship in the state are perhaps embattled by now to take further risks of investment. The CM has a task cut out to retain them by holding out an olive branch in whatever way possible.
In fact, with better roads and air connectivity, all that Meghalaya now needs is increased inflow of tourists for rebooting its economy. Alas! It is now anybody’s guess if tourists would prefer Meghalaya over other states with the entry-exit check-point in operation which is a self-defeating exercise in itself. The objective of detecting illegal outsiders by the members of KSU post its installation is a deterrent to any self-respecting tourist to enter Meghalaya. In the current scenario, the travel and hotel industry can revive themselves by offering lucrative packages to tourists like never before, like no one else.
The economic task force launched by Chief Minister Conrad Sangma last year to revive the economy of the state post-Covid19 shouldn’t end up being a lame-duck initiative. With such well-meaning task force in place reflecting the paternalistic will of the state Government to sort out economic woes of the people, protests and strikes for unfulfilled legitimate demands don’t provide complimentary optics. At worst, they end up bursting arrogance when the opposition isn’t bereft of able and efficient leaders.
The author is a media professional. Email: [email protected]