People's Democracy

KERALA

UDF Govt Implements LPG Policies

  Aboo Baker

KERALA is openly going the LPG (liberalisation-privatisation-globalisation) way, in a most shameless manner. All that Kerala has achieved through decades of hard work and struggle is thus being nullified by the Antony government.

Kerala became a modern Kerala due to four important achievements - land reforms, free mass education, public health programme, and public distribution system.

But now, these four achievements are in the process of being annihilated by the UDF government. For example wealthy guy can now purchase as much land as he wants and if he plants a few vanilla saplings he gets exempted from the land ceiling laws. Similarly, thousands of schools are in the process of being dissolved on the ground that they are uneconomic. In government hospitals including primary and community health centres and medical colleges, taluk hospitals and district hospitals, fees have been introduced for all the services, medicines and food provided there. A glass of milk and an egg cost Rs 10/ at a hospital while they cost only Rs 8 in a private restaurant. In the same way, all examinations and pathological tests cost more than in private establishments today. The aim of the government is make the private sector endeared to the people.  The public distribution system, for which Kerala was renowned not very long ago, is just a farce in the state today.  Ration dealers are on the verge of committing suicide.

And now, it is the turn of the public sector undertakings (PSUs) that are to be taken over by the private sector. The state government has initiated measures to bring them under private control. There are altogether 111 PSUs in the state. Some of them are run profitably while a few are not. The government has decided not to further make any investment in them. Nor would it stand surety to facilitate bank loans for them. Thus the government is virtually washing its hand off the PSUs. The Enterprises Reforms Committee (ERC) has recommended to the government that all PSUs, including those running profitably, should be included among the enterprises where private capital would have a considerable say. The essence of the ERC recommendations is in consonance with the dictates of the international financial establishments and globalisation policies.

The general suggestion by the ERC is that the government should withdraw from the public sector and entrust the PSUs with the private sector. The ERC has categorically demanded of the government not to further invest in the PSUs and that shares thereof should be floated in the open market so that the private entrepreneurs could gradually take them over. The report also directed the government to close down the uneconomic PSUs.

The ERC report has been, generally, approved by the state government, and  concrete steps in this regard would be taken after the Planning Commission makes a micro-level scrutiny of the recommendations. As if as a sop, the industries minister stated that he would discuss the ERC recommendations with the leaders of the trade unions. According to him, the government is incapable of making any further investments in the PSUs.  That is why the government aims at attracting private capital.

The ERC has divided the PSUs in the state into seven categories-:

1.     Those to be shut down,

2.     Those incurring continuous losses,

3.     Those that could be made profitable by strengthening the management,

4.     Those running profitably,

5.     Those running with a social purpose,

6.     Those running with the aim of social welfare, and

7.     Those running with the aim of infrastructure development.

Public sector undertakings like the KSRTS, KSEB, Water Authority, etc, come in the sixth category, while the KSIDC, KINFRA, SIDCO, etc, come under the seventh category. The ERC has recommended that more fees   should be charged from the public who utilise the benefits of the undertakings in the sixth category and for this purpose, they should be brought under regulatory authorities that must have autonomous powers to fix the tariffs in these undertakings. The ERC also recommended that a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) should be introduced immediately in the PSUs. The scheme should be expanded to comprise all categories of employees.

A ‘Global Meet’ is to be organised at Kochi with a view to attracting private capital.  Thus the move to sell out the government undertakings is afoot in Kerala. The UDF government is acting strictly in accordance with the globalisation agenda. But the great lesson the UDF has chosen not to learn any lessons from the experiences of countries like Brazil, Mexico and Argentina in the American continent and Indonesia, South Korea and others in Asia. The UDF is planting the poisonous seeds and what is in store for the future is not its their concern at all. Like many other governments elsewhere, the UDF government of Kerala is also turning out to be a custodian of the private and imperialist interests rather than of the interests and well being of the people who elected it to power. (INN)