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Congress hopes cash subsidy will be 2014
game changer
Tuesday November 27, 2012 09:30:32 PM,
IANS
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New Delhi:
Gearing up for the next general elections, scheduled in 2014, the
Congress Tuesday termed its big-ticket plan to directly transfer
cash to various social welfare beneficiaries as "game-changer" and
"politically revolutionary" step for UPA-II.
"It will be a game changer," Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said
at a press conference at the Congress headquarters here.
"It is a politically revolutionary step. It was a promise we made
in the 2009 manifesto," added Rural Development Minister Jairam
Ramesh, who accompanied Chidambaram.
On Monday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced direct cash
payout of social sector benefits and subsidies to the
beneficiaries from Jan 1, 2013, in 51 districts across 14 states.
The scheme would be rolled out all over the country by 2013-end -
just months ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
The significance of the move for the Congress can be gauged from
the fact that the party's de facto number 2 Rahul Gandhi, who now
heads the its poll coordination panel, would address a meeting of
the Congress committees of the 51 districts where the scheme will
begin.
Chidambaram denied the move was politically motivated.
"It has nothing to do with elections," he said, adding the move
would help plug leakages and duplication in implementation of
social sector schemes and result in savings for the government.
He rubbished the opposition's charge of the cash transfers being
an attempt to bribe the voters. "It is absurd," Chidambaram said,
reacting to the opposition remark.
Ramesh described the policy initiative as "aap ka paisa, aap ke
haath", aimed at ensuring the right of the poor was delivered to
them at their door-step.
The cash amount would be transferred to the beneficiaries' bank
accounts linked to their Aadhaar cards.
The poor in the villages, who would not be able to go to a bank
branch, would be able to get cash through an expanded network of
banking correspondents, said Ramesh.
Chidambaram said the government would start with scholarships and
old-age pension schemes and cover other welfare plans including
various subsidies.
However, he clarified that "complex" issues like food, fertiliser
and cooking gas cylinder subsidies would be taken up later only
when the government is more confident and the bottlenecks in the
implementation of food and fertiliser subsidies are addressed.
"We are prudent, we don't want to stumble and fall," he said.
The scheme is expected to cut down leakages and corruption in the
implementation of various social sector schemes and distribution
of subsidised items.
The cash transfers scheme is expected to reap rich electoral
dividends in the same manner the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural
Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) worked for the UPA-I.
"MGNREGS brought lasting benefit to millions and cash transfers
will bring lasting benefit to millions," said Chidambaram.
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