Ex-BJP CM's alternative budget for Gujarat govt seeks emphasis on environment protection, health, education

A few days ago, I received a phone call from former BJP Chief Minister Suresh Mehta, who resigned from the party in 2007 following differences with the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi. Now 88, though still active, he told me he had prepared an alternative budget proposal ahead of the Gujarat government's budget session.

I have known Mehta ever since I was assigned to Gandhinagar, the state capital, in 1997 to report on government affairs for The Times of India. A former lawyer who always sought to understand issues independently, he was quite frank about his closeness to A.B. Vajpayee. Though not part of the Sangh Parivar and broadly secular despite being in the BJP, he followed the party line and refrained from criticizing the Sangh Parivar.

Mehta told me, "After analyzing past budgets for several months, I have prepared an alternative budget proposal and submitted it to Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel. I did this because I believe that if the state government does not make necessary structural changes in the new budget for 2025-26, people's welfare will suffer. I sought an appointment to discuss my proposal but received no response. Hence, I have decided to address the media and release the document."

When I asked Mehta whether he had taken help from an economist, he said he had not, which surprised me. Though he understands budget nuances well—having served as Chief Minister for nearly a year in 1995-96, followed by holding the powerful Industries portfolio from 1998 to 2002—he told the media, at a press conference on February 17, that he got the idea for an alternative budget from Mahesh Pandya, an environmentalist.

Releasing the 28-page document, Mehta told the media that the Gujarat government has been dividing the budget for the Environment, Forest, and Climate Change Department into three parts. In the outgoing financial year 2024-25, environmental protection received an allocation of just about ₹40 crore out of the total ₹3 lakh crore budget. On the other hand, climate change received ₹1,200 crore.

"Under the climate change category, the state government provides subsidies to industries setting up so-called green energy units, including solar and wind energy, and new technologies that claim to minimize pollution caused by coal-based power production. Does the government believe that farmers do not suffer due to climate change?" he asked.

Further pointing out that the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB), the state’s main regulator for air, water, and land pollution, received zero allocation, Mehta said, "As a result, the GPCB has become dependent on industry, which causes pollution across the state. It certifies industrial units as non-polluting in exchange for fees, which is now its primary source of sustenance. It no longer monitors pollution, something it used to do in the past."

Mehta suggested that this approach is similar to how the state government handles health, education, and child care. "The per-child allocation in 2011-12 was ₹2. For the outgoing financial year, it was ₹8. However, this ₹8 per child allocation conceals a crucial fact: it hides expenses for malnutrition," he said.

"In fact," he continued, "this amount also includes funding for building school classrooms and child care centers. Meanwhile, there have been moves to cut funds for children's morning breakfast programs." He claimed that "nearly 86% of child welfare funds are diverted towards capital expenditure."

Mehta noted, "There has been neglect of social sector spending on health and education in favor of infrastructure development. Huge subsidies are offered to industries in the name of development. Flyovers are considered more important than people's welfare. As a result, debts have risen sharply. In the early 2000s, the state's debt was ₹11,000 crore. By the next financial year, it is expected to reach ₹5 lakh crore."

Comments

60 crore in Mahakumbh? It's all hype with an eye on UP polls, asserts keen BJP supporter in Amit Shah's constituency

As the Mahakumbh drew to a close, during my daily walk, I met a veteran BJP supporter—a neighbor with whom we would often share dinner in a group. An amicable person, the first thing he asked me, as he was about to take the lift to his flat, was, "How many people do you think must have participated in the holy dip?" He then stopped by to talk—which we did for a full half-hour, cutting into my walk time.

Morari Bapu echoes misleading figures to support the BJP's anti-conversion agenda

A senior Gujarat activist phoned me today to inform me that the well-known storyteller on Lord Ram, Morari Bapu, has made an "unsubstantiated" and "preposterous" statement in Songadh town, located in the tribal-dominated Tapi district. He claimed that while the Gujarat government wants the Bhagavad Gita to be taught in schools, the "problem is" that 75% of government teachers "are Christians who do not let this happen" and are “involved in religious conversions.”

Breaking news? Top Hindu builder ties up with Muslim investor for a huge minority housing society in Ahmedabad

There is a flutter in Ahmedabad's Vejalpur area, derogatorily referred to as the "border" because, on its eastern side, there is a sprawling minority area called Juhapura, where around five lakh Muslims live. The segregation is so stark that virtually no Muslim lives in Vejalpur, populated by around four lakh Hindus, and no Hindu lives in Juhapura.

An untold story? Still elusive: Gujarati language studies on social history of Gujarat's caste and class evolution

This is a follow-up to my earlier blog , where I mentioned that veteran scholar Prof. Ghanshyam Shah has just completed a book for publication on a topic no academic seems to have dealt with—caste and class relations in Gujarat’s social history. He forwarded me a chapter of the book, published as an "Economic & Political Weekly" article last year, which deals with the 2015 Patidar agitation in the context of how this now-powerful caste originated in the Middle Ages and how it has evolved in the post-independence era.

Justifying social divisions? 'Dogs too have caste system like we humans, it's natural'

I have never had any pets, nor am I very comfortable with them. Frankly, I don't know how to play with a pet dog. I just sit quietly whenever I visit someone and see their pet dog trying to lick my feet. While I am told not to worry, I still choose to be a little careful, avoiding touching the pet.

Caste, class, and Patidar agitation: Veteran academic 'unearths' Gujarat’s social history

Recently, I was talking with a veteran Gujarat-based academic who is the author of several books, including "Social Movements in India: A Review of Literature", "Untouchability in Rural India", "Public Health and Urban Development: The Study of Surat Plague", and "Dalit Identity and Politics", apart from many erudite articles and papers in research and popular journals.

A conman, a demolition man: How 'prominent' scribes are defending Pritish Nandy

How to defend Pritish Nandy? That’s the big question some of his so-called fans seem to ponder, especially amidst sharp criticism of his alleged insensitivity during his journalistic career. One such incident involved the theft and publication of the birth certificate of Masaba Gupta, daughter of actor Neena Gupta, in the Illustrated Weekly of India, which Nandy was editing at the time. He reportedly did this to uncover the identity of Masaba’s father.

Socialist utopia challenging feudal and Brahminical systems: Kanwal Bharti on Sant Raidas’ vision of Begumpura

In a controversial claim, well-known Dalit writer and columnist Kanwal Bharti has asserted that a clever Brahminical move appears to be behind the Guru Granth Sahib changing the name of the 15th-16th century mystic poet-saint of the Bhakti movement, Sant Raidas, to Sant Ravidas.

New York-based digital company traces Modi's meteoric rise to global Hindutva ecosystem over several decades

A recent document, released by the Polis Project Inc.—a New York-based digital magazine and hybrid research and journalism organization—even as seeking to highlight the alleged rise of authoritarianism in India, has sought to trace Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meteoric rise since 2014 to the ever-expanding global Hindutva ecosystem over the last several decades.

Search This Blog