November 20, 2020 2:29:15 pm
Nitin Raut. (Photo / File Express)
Since Maharashtra’s government Vikas Aghadi is scheduled to complete a year in office, there are rumors in the Shiv Sena triumvirate, Congress and the NCP and Congress complains that their ministers are not getting the necessary funds to implement the policies. in the departments headed by them. .
Here’s what the latest MVA tiff is about.
Why is Congress upset?
Earlier this week, Maharashtra’s Minister of Energy and Congress Leader Nitin Raut had to file His much-talked-about proposal to partially eliminate the high electricity bills that state residents had incurred during the shutdown. While Raut had claimed the proposal was being shelved due to mounting bill arrears, mounting debt from power distribution companies and the Center for not helping, congressional leaders blamed the Finance Department led by Ajit Pawar. for its failure to allocate funds for the proposal. Congress has claimed that the proposal was sent to the Finance Department eight times, but that it stalled each time. The alleged disinterest shown by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in allowing the proposal has also hurt Congress. 📣 Express Explained is now on Telegram
What had Nitin Raut proposed?
During the peak of the pandemic, Congressional leaders in the state had been criticized for not being visible enough or leading the fight against the pandemic. As part of the political lens to address this criticism, Raut had devised an electricity bill exemption scheme.
Due to the lockdown, power distribution companies were unable to take physical notes of meter readings for three months, causing consumers to receive inflated energy bills in July. This led the government to receive criticism from all sectors. In August, the department of Raut proposed to bear most of the “additional” burden on energy bills. According to the proposal now on file, all eligible households would be responsible for paying only for the units consumed in the corresponding months in 2019. For cases where the units billed for April, May and June of this year exceed the corresponding use in 100 units or less, the government had proposed to bear the full cost of the consumer surplus, while proposing to absorb 50% and 25% of the additional burden for cases where surplus units billed range between 101-300 units and 301-500 units.
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Why was the proposal not approved?
While the proposal was intended to benefit Rs 1.14 crore households or 90 percent of all residential consumers in the state, it was expected to cost the state treasury Rs 1,071 crore. With state revenue severely affected due to the lockdown, the state finance department had raised several inquiries, which had stalled its progress. The state seemed hesitant to take on this additional financial burden. Ironically, the August proposal was made after a meeting between Finance Minister Ajit Pawar and Raut.
Is this the first time that Congress has complained about receiving secondary treatment?
Congress is a minor partner of the MVA alliance. Congressional leaders for the past year complained that their departments were not receiving the necessary financial support. Earlier this year, a section of the leadership of the state Congress had also expressed concern that the party was not getting its fair share of the alliance and there were threats that 11 MLAs in Congress would go on hunger strike because funds were not. they were available to their constituencies. .
Congressional cadres had also placed posters on Thane indicating that the party was not receiving its fair share of the alliance. Tribal Development Minister KC Padvi has also complained about a lack of funding. Maharashtra Congress President and State Finance Minister Balasaheb Thorat also acknowledged that congressional ministers complained about the stepmother treatment.
Will Congress disconnect the alliance anytime soon?
The Maharashtra Congress is in a vulnerable position and state leaders are unwilling to risk making difficult decisions or working to expand the party base. With recent match performance At election rallies in Bihar, most leaders are taking a wait and watch approach. However, there is a growing unease between the rows and the file. Local Congressional leaders earlier this week announced that they would fight the elections in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation that are expected to be held in 2022 on their own and that they will not ally with the Shiv Sena, which governs the BMC. While the party cannot disconnect the government from now on, leaders say it must show its disagreement so that it is not treated as easy prey.
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