Allegations Verbatim Countered .

I am in the habit of sharing the minutest of political information that is worth deciding the political landscape of the country. Being a active supporter of the BJP , I intentionally mailed across a list of action items that BJP plans to implement if elected to power.

And Oh Boy, it let loose a plethora of hate mails , some even not finding the contents of the mail not profound .But one of the more interesting and thorough mail , was from RGB . It was heartening to see that the future of India is so concerned about the politics . Though the mail countered what I was propounding , it never the less raised relevant and probing questions.

One of the question concerned the implementation aspect considering that the promises the manifesto made were already incorporated in the five year plans. It is valid to argue that these are fake manifesto promises , designed to beguile the electorates.

I think otherwise . The political party here is promising of deliverance , not of resetting the limits. If we look at the record of the incumbent government , on implementation it has faltered badly. CAG has castigated it for lapses in implementation of hugely popular NREGS , with a strike rate of 5 %. On the front of infrastructure development , the road construction has been lackaisdasical with project completion of just 40% , compared to 99% in 2004. Some may argue on absolute count , even then it fares poorly. It amounts to construction of 5 km/day from 11 km/day in 2004.Even on airport construction , the investments have come from the private sector at a time of booming economy, but with the caveat of hefty user charges which in the times of recession will severely hurt the already fragile aviation industry. Even the much touted Sagar Mala project is in total doldrums.

Next comes the question of financing the projects. If the government can borrow 2,45, 000 crores to finance its fiscal mismanagement , it should without any hitch borrow to fund infrastructure. China recently announced a massive fiscal stimulus of $600 Billion , which has helped to revive it faltering economy. The BJP manifesto promises to start metro services in 25 cities. To the uninitiated it may look unreasonable to concurrently proceed project implementation. But technically and financially it is very much feasible. Even the much touted DMRC , has costs of around 11,000 Cr, with Central government contributing only 34%, the rest financed by State Govt and JBIC (Japan Bank of International Co operation). Also the point to note is that DMRC was a pioneering concept , in the most expensive place with the most challenging engineering at work in the most hostile ventured environment.Now that expertise has been developed , costs of cloning should be less , economies of scale shall be realized subsequently .A replication of the project will be a booster for the economy in terms of creating jobs and spurring demand. Also the cost will be incurred subsequently and not at one go , therefore with revenues multiplying despite a minor chunk of the population paying taxes, funding will be challenging but achievable.

On the front of tax limits , exempting people with income in excess of Rs. 3 Lacs, is better than spending huge amounts spurring demand by way of subsidies. I have an inkling the manifesto mentions only the give ways not what will be taken back. But never the less , it will be spectacular for it will be streamlining and right targeting of the intended beneficiary.

Even the much touted railways seems more like fudging of accounts . An analysis of the balance sheet reveals Pension Funds earn marked , have been netted to income statement inflating profits. As a traveler , the prosperity of railways is still to trickle down. In fact the revenue break up reveals more than 2/3rd of revenue coming from freight. And ask any industry insider , how the railways induces them to freight charge them. I still see uncleanliness , trains running behind schedule , outdated wagons and engines chugging along. Track renewal , Introduction of high speed connectivity are still a distant far.

Another booster has to come in the form of inland river system and this is where interlinking of rivers will come into play.The total project cost of 2.5Lacs Crores might be intimidating , through innovative financing it is achievable for it entails huge pay offs in terms of savings. As for the funding , if we can pay 2,80, 000 Lacs Cores to breathe life into ailing nuclear producers in the US in the name of technology transfer , we need to set our priorities right.

In the end , I would say that it must be kept in mind that a Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins With a Small Step , A Step called Foresight.