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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Mulayam's promise is a total disregard for the usage of water: Shubhranshu Patnaik

Mulayam's promise is a total disregard for the usage of water: Shubhranshu Patnaik

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published Published on Jan 10, 2012   modified Modified on Jan 10, 2012
-The Economic Times
 
It doesn't need economists, environmentalists or water conservation experts to tell us that the promise of free water is a disastrous idea. It will encourage farmers to cultivate water-guzzling crops. And in the process, it will lower water table levels, making water an even more precious commodity. 

But this is election season when parties consider the exchequer as candy-vending machines. It is also the season when bad politics prevails over good economics. 

In Uttar Pradesh, Mulayam has promised free water for farmers as well as education and health care for the poor. Besides, he has promised to revive the unemployment dole distributed to the youth during his previous tenure. 

While there cannot be any quarrel over providing health care and education to the poor, a section whose needs find mention only in poll promise documents, there cannot be any justification for Mulayam's free-water promise. 

"It leads to a total disregard for the usage of water. It leads to its faster utilisation, which triggers a faster depletion of the water table. There was a move by the Election Commission to bar the political parties from making such populist announcements. They are economically just not feasible and unsustainable. They should not be adhered to by any political party," said Shubhranshu Patnaik, senior director of Deloitte. 

Yet, on the populism index, UP politicians have to do a lot of catch up. The recent polls in Tamil Nadu set the freebie bar high: DMK promised free mixies or grinders to women, free laptops to SC/ST students and free rice of 35 kg to BPL families if voted back to power. 

AIADMK countered it with the promise of 20 kg of free rice for ration-card holders, laptops for classes XI students, free fans, mixers and grinders to all and mineral water to BPL families, besides four gram of gold for 'Thali' (mangalsutra) free of cost to poor women and cable TV connections at subsidised rates. 

Mulayam's offer will definitely be countered by Mayawati. But if TN is anything to go by, voters are not likely to be taken in by competitive populism. Ultimately, if governance is good, people will prefer status quo. If not, they will vote the incumbent out.


The Economic Times, 10 January, 2012, http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/mulayams-promise-is-a-total-disregard-for-the-usage-of-water-shubhranshu-patnaik/articleshow/11429658.cms


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