CMP draft finalised: Poll promises won’t remain on this paper

The Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party and Congress are finding it difficult to incorporate all assurances given in their poll manifestos in the common minimum

The Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party and Congress are finding it difficult to incorporate all assurances given in their poll manifestos in the common minimum programme (CMP), considering their financial implications. For instance, the parties avoided including Sena’s ₹10-meal and unemployment allowance of ₹5,000 a month promised by the Congress, along with assurances given to farmers.

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The state exchequer has a debt burden of more than ₹4.71 lakh crore and raising any additional funds for a populist scheme is difficult. The coordination committee of senior leaders from the three parties finalised the CMP draft on Thursday. The CMP has more than 30 points under various heads dedicated to various sectors, and a majority of them are with no financial implications.

The panel held rounds of meetings and referred joint manifesto (shapathnama) released by the Congress and NCP and vachannama released by the Shiv Sena. Sena’s Vachannama had promised a cut in power tariff by 30%, ₹1-clinics across the state and blanket loan waiver to farmers. The Congress-NCP had promised waiver of property tax to flats upto 500sqft in 26 municipal corporations and upto 70% loan to farmers against their land value. Most of them have not found a place in the CMP.

According to leaders who were part of the committee, they have not assured a meal for ₹10, unemployment allowance, annual cash credit of ₹10,000 to farmers and complete implementation of Sachhar commission (appointed to study measures for welfare of minorities). “The assurances are to woo voters, but their implementation is difficult. A blanket loan waiver will need another ₹20,000 crore, in addition to the ₹18,400 crore already disbursed by the earlier government. Similarly, a cash credit of ₹10,000 to 25 lakh families of farmers or ₹5000 monthly allowance to more than 40 lakh unemployed youth will put tremendous burden on the exchequer. The CMP has emphasised majorly on the compensation for heavy losses incurred due to unseasonal rain and has offered waiver with some riders. It will speak about generation of new jobs, but has no assurance of filling all vacant posts (more than 1.80 lakh) in government, as it will increase the wage bill,” said a senior leader privy to the development.