<b>Dillip Satapathy:</b> How Patnaik defies anti-incumbency

Efficient delivery of social welfare schemes, absence of a viable alternative leader in the Opposition camp keep him going

When Naveen Patnaik took oath as Odisha chief minister for the fourth consecutive term on May 21, 2014, he convened a meeting of the Cabinet the same evening to adopt the poll manifesto of the Biju Janata Dal as the official guiding doctrine of his government.

Two years later, some of the poll promises have been fulfilled while others, such as setting up an Odia language university and giving agricultural loans to farmers at a concessional rate of one per cent, remain pending.

However, Patnaik continues to be the most popular political leader in the state. Going by the opinion polls conducted by local media channels, he will return to power with a thumping majority again if elections are held today.

What is so endearing about Patnaik that defies anti-incumbency, particularly at a time when state finances are under stress, unemployment is rising and the economic growth rate has slowed down?

Among the reasons are his ability to stay out of scams, efficient delivery of social welfare schemes, and the absence of any viable alternative leader in the Opposition camp to challenge his hegemony.

The achievements of the Patnaik government in the past two years are mostly in the social sector. They include construction of one million pucca houses for the poor; expansion of the Aahar Yojana (a scheme to provide cheap lunch to the poor, earlier limited to urban areas) to the whole of state; implementation of the National Food Security Act to cover two-thirds of the population of the state; Rs 1,000 crore drought relief package for farmers; initiating steps for direct transfer of benefits to farmers from this month; launching of 100 drinking water supply projects in urban areas; and a special package (including house building assistance and pension) for the construction workers, among others.

Although the Opposition, particularly the Bharatiya Janata Party, charge that the money available under various central schemes is being diverted to fund some of these welfare measures, Patnaik has successfully warded off such allegations and is taking credit for his people-friendly programmes. On the economic front, however, the Patnaik government has little to show. Except for the commissioning of the long-pending Tata Steel Kalinga Nagar integrated steel plant and Indian Oil refinery at Paradip, no major project has taken off in the past 24 months.

TWO YEARS OF NAVEEN PATNAIK'S 4TH TERM AS CM

SUCCESSES

1. One million pucca houses for the poor
   

 

Expansion of Aahar Yojana (a scheme to provide cheap lunch to poor) to the entire state
 

Implementation of the National Food Security Act covering two-thirds of the state population
 

Direct transfer of farm subsidy benefits to farmers
 

Construction of 100 model schools in block headquarters to impart teaching as per the CBSE course

FAILURES

1. Posco's $12-billion mega steel project makes no headway
    
2. Widening fiscal deficit and rising debt burden
    
3. Falling GSDP growth and rising unemployment among the youth
    
4. Failure to refund money to investors duped by chit fund companies
    
5. Yet to implement the poll promise of giving loans to farmers at a subsidised rate of 1%

On the other hand, the fate of Posco's proposal to build a $12-billion steel plant in Odisha, which had put the state in the limelight because of its tag of being the largest foreign direct investment, has been sealed as the South Korean steel major, peeved with delays in land acquisition and uncertainty over raw material linkage, has made its disenchantment with the project obvious. The state government started the process of e-auction of major mineral blocks last year in line with the provisions of the new Mines and Minerals Development Regulation (MMDR) Act. However, it is yet to gather speed as most of the identified blocks have not been explored up to G2 (General Exploration) level, a criterion stipulated in the mine auction rules.

The government has brought some respite to the mining sector, a key driving force in the state's economy, by allowing reopening of mines shut down two years ago due to lack of clearances. There has been a spurt in iron ore production, which touched 80 million tonnes in FY 16 - the highest in the past 10 years.

The state government is proud of the fact that it has presented the largest ever Budget of Rs 94,000 crore for 2016-17. But, this jumbo Budget has pegged the fiscal deficit at 3.79 per cent and the gross borrowing for the year at Rs 15,000 crore. Both the figures are the highest for any financial year in the past, reflecting the fiscal stress in the state.

Similarly, the sliding rate of growth of gross state domestic product from 6.24 per cent in 2014-15 to 6.16 per cent in 2015-16 and rising unemployment - 1.1 million educated youths are registered in employment exchanges - speak volumes about the economic slowdown in the state.

What should trigger concern in the ruling dispensation is the growing restiveness among hundreds of thousands of small depositors who lost their hard-earned money in the chit-fund scam and are awaiting refund as promised by the government.

Patnaik had announced setting up of a corpus of Rs 300 crore and refund of money to depositors with an exposure of up to Rs 10,000. However, small depositors are yet to be identified.