Almost unnoticed in shadows of the political drama in New Delhi, Tamil Nadu’s Ms Reforms has reinvented herself as Lady Populism. In a typically brazen response to her rout in the Lok Sabha elections, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has rolled back the economically sensible but politically costly reforms she had pursued. While NDA supporters shrink in horror at the steps being recommended by sections of the Congress and its allies, Tamil Nadu is joining Andhra Pradesh in providing free power to all farmers. In fact, it has gone a step further by reintroducing free bus passes for students and subsidised rations even for the rich. For a state that has projected a deficit of Rs 3,336.43 crore this fiscal year, the roll-back would cost Jayalalithaa’s government at least another Rs 200 crore. Having decided that AIADMK will no longer pay the political price for reforms, Jayalalithaa has swung to the other extreme. Even a rich farmer, who owns hundreds of acres of land, will get free power. More significantly, the farmer may waste any amount of electricity which will not be metered. The State Electricity Board has been ordered not to install any electricity meter for the farm pumpsets. Ironically, only months before elections, she had defended her reforms. “The government will cross-subsidise for small and marginal farmers, but why should it pay for the rich farmer?” she had asked. Now, the salaried urban consumer may have to foot the bill. Poor farmers had continued to enjoy subsidies even when Jayalalithaa scrapped free power supply. Even though the TN Electricity Regulatory Commission had directed the loss-making SEB to charge 20 paise per unit for all metered farm pumpset connections and Rs 250 per horse power a month for unmetered ones, the government had offered to pick up the tab for poor farmers. Now, with the reforms officially buried, the state’s power subsidy bill will go up from Rs 200 crore to at least Rs 265 crore, officials said. In her incarnation as reformer, Jayalalithaa’s proudest achievement was cutting down food subsidy from Rs 1,500 crore to Rs 750 crore. She had raised the price of rationed rice and stopped those with an annual income above Rs 60,000 from drawing subsidised rations. Instead, the affluent were given honorary cards that served only as a proof of identity. Now Jayalalithaa has decided to scrap that system, all ration cards can be used for purchases. A senior official estimates this will push up the subsidy by at least Rs 25 crore. The figure could climb higher as ration card staff could make false entries — claiming the rich had drawn rations — while selling the subsidised commodities at higher rates elsewhere. Another reversal: Free bus passes for all students, irrespective of what their parents earn, costing the state Rs 80 crore. Add another Rs 30 crore on eggs for students on the mid-day meal scheme. Two years ago, AIADMK leaders had cited former CMs Chandrababu Naidu and Digvijay Singh as leaders who rode reforms to be voted back to power. Not now. “Naidu is out. Rajashekhar Reddy is in. And so is free power for farmers,” said a politician.
