It's Clientelism, Not Federalism

The news is that the Central Planning Commission has approved Goa's Annual Plan of Rs. 3320 crores (or 3.23 billion rupees) - and the photo on the front page showed Goa's chief minister, Digamber Kamat of the CONgress, with chhota ustad montek, the IMF man who heads the Planning Commission in Nude Elly.

This gives the impression that the Centre is "allocating resources" appropriately, so that Goa can "develop." Yet, the truth is the very opposite. Much of this money is printed or borrowed money - and this retards development, while also fuelling inflation. Goans do not gain with such spending; rather, they lose. As I pointed out the other day, "the more they spend, the more you lose." Indeed, the more there is of "government growth" - in terms of either powers or budgets - the less the people grow, the less private businesses grow.

What is really going on here?

Is this "federalism"? I don't think so. What is obvious is that Goa is a "client" of the Centre, receiving money from Nude Elly in exchange for loyalty. The CONgress chief minister of Goa is part of the Party Apparatus headquartered in 10, Janpath.

Actually, even the Civics textbooks do not claim that India is "federal." They say India is "quasi-federal" - which ought to mean that India is "quasi-unitary." Had ours been a real federation, the transfer of resources would have been the other way around, with Goa collecting its own resources and spending these on what Goa needs (like roads) - while also sending a small portion to finance the Centre, which will have very limited tasks to perform. This "inverted pyramid" is called "subsidiarity" - and is based on the idea that local government comes first. I have an old post on this concept, basic to de-centralisation.

Subsidiarity matters in Goa as well. Although this is a tiny state, there are 3 major cities and over 30 towns with municipal organisation. And it cannot be denied that all these cities and towns are collapsing. The fishing hamlets by the sea where tourists flock in the season are also pictures of neglect.

Goa needs mayors too. It is from Goa's cities and towns that taxes are collected. These should ideally be spent in the city or town itself, while some portion of these should be sent upwards, to Panjim and (maybe) Nude Elly.

I say "maybe" because Goan feni - of which I had three large shots last night - is not allowed entry into the rest of India. Nor does Nude Elly's "trade policy" allow Goa to import freely through its "major port," Marmugao. This port is today another "iron ore exporter." Recall that the Magna Carta gave all Englishmen the "freedom to trade by land and sea."

Interestingly, in the Plan that has just been approved by montek, Rs.500 crores has been allocated for the "mining areas." The news report makes no mention of any funds allocated to the cities and towns of Goa for local Capital investments like roads and footpaths - which they desperately need. Instead, almost all the money has been allocated for various "welfare schemes." In other words, politicians loyal to Nude Elly and IAS baboos will get all this money for loose spending - that is, building clientelistic networks of their own. There is no "economics" to this Plan; it is all about "politics." This is only natural in a socialist country that despises the Free Market and makes politics the means to economic gain. All immorality and corruption stem from this ideology.

Politics and politicians in Goa are much the same as anywhere else in India - and this is a tragedy. Many important ministers are under a cloud. It is a mirror-image of Nude Elly. Dirty politics.

Recommended reading: My article from 2007 titled "Goa must secede."