One of the most congested cities of Punjab with a high-speed metro running through it, futuristic pods to convey pilgrims and passengers, LED public lighting, tax exemptions, regularisation of illegal collections … if there is something wrong with this picture, it is that it comprises powerfully painted, evocative images which are based more on projection than reality. Major political parities in Punjab are already in a poll mode, and the SAD-BJP combine has made announcements about fixing a deadline for starting work on ambitious projects — the Rs 8705-crore Ludhiana Metro, or the Rs 188-crore Amritsar Pod service, higher status for Moga, Phagwara and Pathankot, etc.
Voters and observers may take the statements made by SAD-BJP luminaries with a pinch of salt, given a pattern observed for many years, of the party in power becoming suddenly proactive in the latter half of its tenure, even when many of the projects announced cannot be completed during its remaining period. Naturally, with these populist announcements, the party seeks to influence the voters.
It is obvious that infrastructure projects need long-term planning and cannot be delivered in five-year cycles. Thus, consensus needs to be built between various political parties so that if one replaces the other, the work can continue, and will not be put on a backburner in the future simply because of a change in the political dispensation. Perhaps this is too much to hope for in the present-day politically charged atmosphere, in which the art of bipartisan compromises in the interest of the state has not been seen for quite a while. In the absence of this, political parties must at least desist from making announcements like that of removing the requirement of getting a no-objection certificate from local bodies for owners of houses in unauthorised colonies in order to get power connections, which simply sacrifice government norms at the altar of political expediency.
Voters and observers may take the statements made by SAD-BJP luminaries with a pinch of salt, given a pattern observed for many years, of the party in power becoming suddenly proactive in the latter half of its tenure, even when many of the projects announced cannot be completed during its remaining period. Naturally, with these populist announcements, the party seeks to influence the voters.
It is obvious that infrastructure projects need long-term planning and cannot be delivered in five-year cycles. Thus, consensus needs to be built between various political parties so that if one replaces the other, the work can continue, and will not be put on a backburner in the future simply because of a change in the political dispensation. Perhaps this is too much to hope for in the present-day politically charged atmosphere, in which the art of bipartisan compromises in the interest of the state has not been seen for quite a while. In the absence of this, political parties must at least desist from making announcements like that of removing the requirement of getting a no-objection certificate from local bodies for owners of houses in unauthorised colonies in order to get power connections, which simply sacrifice government norms at the altar of political expediency.
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