People's Democracy

Mass Organisations Oppose Tilt Towards Khaas Aadmi

THROUGH a statement issued from New Delhi on July 6, the All India Agricultural Workers Union (AIAWU) has pointed out that while there is a 144 per cent increase in NREGA funds in the budget for 2009-10, it is clear that workers are given only Rs 100 per day under the scheme. At the same time, greedy company manipulators find that the tax on their fringe benefits is gone. Essentially, thus, this is a pro-rich budget with a sop or two for the poor.

The AIAWU feels the lack of support for the poor is evident from the fact that the basically anti-poor division of BPL and APL continues to operate despite mass demands for a properly functioning and universal public distribution system (PDS). This will make the burden of a family feeding its members unbearable as the government has failed to check the rise in food prices, despite an overall fall in inflation.

While welcoming the Food Security Act, the organisation wanted to know as to what about the security of those who produce it. There is no talk of a comprehensive central legislation for agricultural labour, of land reforms or of cheap credit to farmers at four per cent interest. Interest for loans still remains at seven per cent for the peasantry, three per cent higher than that for corporates.

With regard to employment, the government�s packages are all linked to profitability and consumption, with no stipulation to increase employment to avail of them. This will lead to further jobless growth. This, at a time when the budget itself talks of an increase in unemployment because of the global financial crisis, is ominous. For dalits too, while they are resident in no less than 44,000 villages, only 1000 villages have been offered a sop of Rs 100 crore. In a state like Kerala, there is not one such villages to benefit from this.

Finally, when it comes to paying for these sops, the railway budget with its private-public collaboration is a cover-up for handing over vast amounts of public land in prime localities to private entrepreneurs. There is also the threat of opening the public sector units to 49 per cent private investments, which is like the profligate rich who sell the family jewels to pay their club bills. While pointing out that a time of struggle is ahead to see that the poor are not shortchanged by a government committed to the exploiters, both Indian and foreign, the AIAWU said it is braced for this struggle.

AIDWA

ACCORDING to the All India Democratic Women�s Association (AIDWA), the budget speech shows that the UPA government has betrayed the trust of the aam aadmi and aam aurat who had reposed their faith in the UPA in the recent elections. Our vulnerability to the recession afflicting the whole world is evident in the decline in growth rates by 2.3 per cent within a single year. Naturally, women will be the worst affected in this process, and therefore the AIDWA had expected the budget to provide some relief to them. Instead of this, the main focus is on providing relief to the corporate sector, without providing adequate support to the weaker sections and women. The exaggerated promises made in the president�s speech have not been backed by the resource allocations via the budget.

On the issue of food security, the AIDWA feels the government does not want to extend the food security net, which is essential to address the increasing malnutrition, hunger and anaemia amongst women and children. The increase in food subsidy (from Rs 43,627 crore to 52,489 crore) is inclusive of the minimum support price provided for the purchase of foodgrains. Additionally, there is no increase in the outlays for mid-day meal schemes. The increasing food prices would accentuate the crisis further. The demand of the women�s movement for universalising and strengthening the PDS has been totally ignored. Without this, the proposed National Food Security Act can only fail in its objective.

Further, the allocation for NREGA from Rs 36,750 crore to 39,100 crore can barely cover the proposed increase in wages to Rs 100. The inadequacies in its implementation and coverage have not been addressed at all. Unfortunately, there is no mention of an employment guarantee scheme for the urban poor.

On the gender issues, the budget is shocking in the way it has shortchanged women despite its rhetoric of social inclusiveness and equity. The total outlay for the nodal ministry for women has decreased from Rs 466.5 crore in 2008-09 to 385.13 crore in 2009-10. The need for institutional support to working women has been trivialised by decreasing the allocation of government supported women�s hostels from Rs 20 crore to 10 crore. This means the vulnerability of young women in an increasingly contract oriented private economy has not been appreciated. The comprehensive scheme for combating trafficking has also suffered with the allocation reduced from Rs 10 to five crore. The much advertised national mission for empowerment of women has got a �magnificent� allocation of one crore rupees.

Moreover, the RMK, which is supposed to facilitate and support women�s self-help groups (SHGs), has a reduced allocation of Rs 20 crore from the earlier 31 crore. The interest subsidy provided on loans is much less than the four per cent rate of interest demanded for priority sector lending. The success of the government�s intention in bringing 50 per cent of rural women into the SHG network is therefore suspect.

The government has announced many tax proposals that benefit the corporate sector. These are likely to result in revenue losses, and the government is attempting to make this up by curtailing the social sector expenditure in general and expenditure on women�s welfare in particular. This is unfortunate and ironic given the UPA government�s stated commitment to gender budgeting and social inclusiveness.

AIKS

ACCORDING to the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), the budget has come at a time when recession has hit all sectors of the economy and the government was expected to come up with concrete measures to meet this extraordinary situation. Delayed monsoons have hit the agrarian sector and there are indications of drought conditions. The suicides by farmers continue unabated, touching an average of 17,000 a year. But the finance minister has turned a blind eye to these realities and failed to provide adequate resources necessary to stimulate growth. The utter disregard for the masses and their livelihood is clear when one looks at the allocations for agriculture and rural development. Certain glaring facts need to be noted to understand the callous attitude of the government.

1) The budget speech sets a target of four per cent growth rate for agriculture in 2009-10. But the Economic Survey clearly points to a decline in the growth originating from agriculture and allied activities from over 4.9 per cent over three years (2005-06 to 2007-08), on an average, to merely 1.6 per cent in 2008-09. Yet, there are no concrete measures which may bring about a turn-around.

2) There is a fall in food grains production. Except for rice which has registered a marginal increase of 2.4  per cent  over an above the targets for 2008-09, all other grains have shown a decline --- 1.1 per cent for wheat, 7.9 per cent for coarse cereals, 8.5 per cent for pulses and an overall decline of 1.4 per cent from the target. The decline is higher for oilseeds, cotton, sugarcane etc. There is no talk of remunerative prices for crops, nor is there any respect for the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices in this regard. The M S Swaminathan commission recommendation of cost of cultivation plus 50 per cent for fixing the minimum support price has not been accepted.

3) The budget talks of subvention of one per cent in interest rate for farmers who repay their crop loans on schedule. In the absence of an effective procurement system with remunerative prices, the farmers are forced to make distress sales and remain indebted. The kharif prices proposed by the CACP have not yet been accepted by the government. This being the case, farmers are only going to be further pushed into of indebtedness. The seven per cent interest is too high and opposed to the Swaminathan recommendation of four per cent.

4) The mention of a task force to look into the issue of loans from private moneylenders and informal sources would not serve any purpose if it is going to be restricted only to Maharashtra or even to Vidarbha. This is a nationwide phenomenon and the National Commission on Farmers recommendation as well as the Kerala example should have been considered rather than coming up with a half-baked election-oriented measure.

5) The addition in allocation for irrigation is a paltry Rs 1000 crore even amid the delayed monsoons and drought indications in most parts of the country. The budget talks of direct fertiliser subsidies to farmers but has no concrete proposal about the mechanism. It also does not have any vision for replenishing the soil or promoting balanced soil nutrition through encouraging organic fertilisers and judicious use of chemical fertilisers.

6) Unfortunately, the minister has approved an increase in price of foodgrains by one rupee per kilo for Antyodaya families and a cut in the food quotas to BPL families by 10 kg in the name of the National Food Security Act. This is apart from the fact that the identified BPL families are much less than in reality.

7) The allocation of Rs 39,100 crore to NREGA is welcome. But there is no concrete proposal to utilise the scheme to enhance the living conditions of agricultural workers and thereby making effort to subsidise the labour costs primarily for small and marginal farmers.

8) The budget talks of 44,000 villages where the Scheduled Castes population is more than 50 per cent and proposes integrated development in 1000 of them, which is less than three per cent. It allocates a humiliatingly low Rs 100 crore for developmental activity. This pittance is a mockery in the name of social justice.

While saying that thee days of crisis for the peasantry are far from over, the AIKS says the government seems keen on pushing anti-people policies with far greater vigour. Hence there is the need for the peasants and agricultural workers to build consistent struggles against such policies.

CITU

THE Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) is of the opinion that the union budget does not bring any solace to the working class and common men reeling under relentless job losses owing to global recession and skyrocketing prices of essential commodities mocking at the official claim of declining inflation rate. Yet the finance minister�s assertion again is that he would deregulate the prices of petroleum products, even after raising the prices of petrol and diesel just before the budget. This shows clearly that containing price rise of essential commodities is not at all in the government�s agenda. Added to this is the proposal to abolish the Commodities Transactions Tax, which would enhance speculation in the commodity market, making the price situation even more difficult.  

The budget speech contains a pious hope of creating 12 million additional job opportunities every year but does not suggest any concrete measures to put a brake to the ongoing job losses which has already crossed five million. The budget speech boasted of stimulus packages to the industry and business to the tune of 3.5 per cent of GDP since October last, but did not mention anything about the real efficacy of such stimulus packages in protecting jobs or arresting job losses. The fact is that these stimulus packages did not give any relief to the workers.

While welcoming the increased allocation for NREGA in the budget and increase in wage rate to Rs 100, the CITU has demanded extension of the scheme to urban areas. It also demanded that the wage rate should not be lower than the statutory minimum wage in the concerned state.

The CITU feels the budget is tilted towards khaas aadmi at the cost of aam-aadmi comprising 77 per cent of the population earning below Rs 20 a day. While direct tax collection from khass aadmi is revenue-neutral, the aam aadmi is being asked to contribute Rs 2000 crore more as indirect taxes. There is no increase in direct tax despite the minister�s bold statement that �growth in the direct tax revenue foregone is relatively higher that the growth in the direct tax revenues.� The budget did not bother to introspect its direct tax policy resulting in a huge quantum of revenue foregone owing to concessions granted to the corporates. The loss is Rs 4.18 lakh crore or 68.95 per cent of the aggregate tax collection in 2008-09, compared to 48 per cent in the preceding year. The budget is also silent on the huge amounts of unaccounted money lying in foreign banks but plays eloquent about reducing the subsidy on fertilisers and petroleum products in the name of fiscal deficit management. The budget announces a hefty concession in the form of income tax waiver for the private gas producer in KG-D6 basin which has the implication of revenue loss to the tune Rs 40 to 50 thousand crore for a period of seven years. And, in the same breath, it pleads about the tainted process of selling public assets. Instead of using part of the huge reserves and surpluses with the central public sector units for creating productive assets and employment generation, these units are to be put on sale in phases. It is ridiculous that the budget proposed that donations to political parties or even anonymous donations to NGOs be exempted from income tax for both the donors and the recipients.  

The CITU welcomed the idea of setting up a National Gas Grid but maintained that for its success the government must take over the distribution and marketing of gas at the wellhead. 

The CITU expressed concern about the brazenly neo-liberal bias in the budget propositions barring a few exceptions. This is going to create tremendous resentment among the working class and the common people who want protection of their employment, new jobs, decent wages and a stable price situation in respect of their daily necessities. The budget has failed to address these issues. The CITU called upon the working class to unite and protest for reversal of the anti-worker budget provisions, disinvestment proposals and huge concessions to corporate houses in different forms.

DYFI

IN a statement issued on July 7, the Central Executive Committee of the Democratic Youth Federation of India said the union budget 2009-10 remains far from meeting the requirements of more expenditure for employment generation, and for education and health. The budget is grossly inadequate for meeting the major challenges of growing job losses and declining purchasing power of the masses at a time when the economic crisis is aggravating. As a policy statement of the central government, the union budget has failed to allocate the required resources for employment generation. It is even silent on the continuing ban on recruitment in government departments. The finance minister did not find it necessary at least talk of a scheme for urban employment guarantee. The increased allocation of Rs 2,350 crore for NREGA is much less than what is required for its meaningful expansion.

While the increase of less then Rs. 200 crore for elementary education is meagre, there is no provision for the allocation needed to implement the Right to Education. The Rural Health Mission will get only Rs 1730 crore more than what was given last year. In short, the government has made its priorities clear. Amid the economic crisis, job losses, salary cuts, slowdown in agriculture and industry, and the resultant income disparities, which are bound to increase, the Congress government is not ready to spend much for the youth who constitute a majority of our people or for the aam aadmi. The DYFI therefore urged the youth and the people to unite to safeguard their rights and livelihood. (INN)