During electioneering, political parties that are competing with one another announce freebies or doles. This type of lure to voters does not seem new. However, it has the potential for vitiating free and fair elections as well as causing financial and environmental disruptions. Advocate Ashwini Upadhyay filed a PIL to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court sought a response from both the Centre and Election Commission. The Chief Justice-led bench noted that freebies go beyond the budget and disrupt the level playing field. It is possible for a candidate of the parties offering bigger freebies to have an advantage in the election.
The court stated that a similar question was also raised in 2013. The court stated that the EC had met parties and initiated to draw a guidance, which is still to be developed. Among many promises, parties have offered free power to farmers to operate their irrigation pumps during the five-state assembly elections.
The Yogi Adityanaths Uttar Pradesh government announced an increase of 50% in the power tariff for agriculture to boost its farmers outreach and prepare for polls. This will be a benefit to 13 lakh rural and semi-urban users. The CMs office said that the move was made in consideration of the convenience and economic prosperity of farmers.
The state government has promised to give an additional subsidy to the UP Power Corporation of Rs 1,000 crore in order to extend the benefit. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), and the Samajwadi Party (Samajwadi Party) have made a promise to give 300 units of power as a poll pledge if they are elected to office. All major political parties in the state announced that they would provide free electricity for farmers to use for irrigation in their election manifesto.
Low tariffs have led to Delhi’s power subsidy increasing significantly in recent years. A 2020 Berkeley University study has shown a strong correlation in per capita electricity consumption and GDP. A 2018 OPEC study found that a 1% increase in electricity consumption leads to a 0.77% increase economic growth over the long-term. According to the AAP government, Delhi’s GDP grew at 7.7% per cent between 2015-16 and now. This figure defies India’s economic slowdown. AAP government also found that consumers were more likely to buy electricity at a lower cost and that the number of new connections increased by 20% between 2014 and 2019. This led to lower transmission and connection losses (from 17% in 2013 down to 8% in 2019), and helped improve the economic efficiency of the power sector.
AAP’s arguments are flawed. Only 50% of the 175 GW of solar and wind power in the country are operational. The remaining 280GW is expected to be operational by 2030. Not only Delhi but the entire country is awaiting the transition to green power. Another important question is: From where should the subsidy be paid?
AAP’s election promise for assembly elections in Punjab, UP Uttarakhand, and Goa to provide 300 units free power to citizens with uninterrupted electricity supply if the party is voted into power can have an impact on groundwater reserves. Farmers in UP will receive free electricity, regardless of the party’s victory. All groundwater can be pulled out of the ground for water-intensive crops.
Stubble burning
Farmers in the northern states are attracted to growing more of these crops by paying a minimum support price (MSP). If the wind direction is not favorable, paddy growth would result in more stubble being burned after harvest. People across north India suffer from breathing-related ailments as the air quality drops. The wind direction changes after two years, and pollutants escape into the atmosphere. This increases the concentration of carbon dioxide, an inert compound that can remain in the atmosphere for many centuries and is responsible for warming the planet.
Groundwater has been decreasing at alarming rates in the northern region. Natural recharge is very low because the region has very few forests. The governments have not made enough efforts to create parks, wells, and ponds to recharge water. Farmers should be encouraged and supported to grow maize, jawar and pulses instead of paddy. Governments must also ensure that MSP policy is extended to cover this cropping. Poplar is a tree species that some farmers grow. They may also be encouraged by their local species to grow sisoo, jamun sisoo arjun, tapsi siras, andmelia compositaetc. This can also accelerate the process for recharge.
The Punjab government passed a law to conserve underground water in 2009. This bans paddy from being transplanted into the agricultural fields until June 15, each year. This was done in order to protect the water tables during summer months from any further damage until the monsoon arrives. Haryana’s government also passed a similar law. Farmers would lose the benefits of these laws if they were not given electricity for free.
Pre-poll surveys indicate that AAP is the frontrunner for the Punjab government. When asked where the resources would come from for freebies, the party said that it would regulate sand mining which would generate Rs 20,000 crore per year for the government. The Himalayan rivers and tributaries bring down sand, and the state’s haphazard mining has been very rampant. This is another reason for low groundwater recharge. Regulating sand mines can help recharge, but the amount of sand extracted would drop substantially and so would the AAP revenue projections.
Free power for farmers to grow paddy is double whammy: groundwater recharge process is affected, and stubble burning impacts human health. This exacerbates global warming.
(The writer is a former Principal Chief Conservator for Forests, Karnataka).