PUDUCHERRY: Even as Pondicherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy leading a delegation of MLAs has intensified his efforts in Delhi to get statehood for the Union Territory of Puducherry and has mobilised political support from a vast chunk of major parties, the lack of a financial viability report to show that the UT has achieved self-sufficiency in finance could be an impediment to the prospect of achieving statehood.
The CM’s memorandum contains a proposal prepared by a secretary to the government, which he has been submitted to all concerned.
Viable option
Former Lok Sabha member and an economist M Ramadass, who published a comprehensive book on statehood a few years ago, says that the economy of UT has improved in the last few years and statehood is a viable option. The Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) outshines the national economy.
The growth rate of the UT’s GSDP in 2017-2018 was 11.4 per cent, whereas the GDP growth rate of the Union government was 7 per cent only. The per capita income of the UT is one of the highest in the country. The present impediments and handicap are due to the fact that Puducherry still continues as UT. To remove these obstacles, statehood is essential, he says.
Lack of sound proposal
However, the absence of a sound statehood proposal with facts and figures under the present conditions could pose problems, said Ramadass. The CM has gone to Delhi in a hurry without preparing such a document for the statehood proposal to be processed by the Centre.
On earlier occasions, the then CMs, V Vaithilingam, R V Janakiraman and N Rangasamy had approached the Centre with a sound proposal based on a report on the merits, demerits and various aspects of statehood, prepared by a special committee. Meeting people without a viability report is unlikely to serve any purpose, he said.
The exercise should have been undertaken by the government instead of submitting a memorandum prepared by a secretary to the government. The Chief Minister, however, disagrees, saying that when Puducherry’s contribution to revenue was 60 per cent, there could be no doubt about the viability of being a state. Under the GST, Puducherry is recognised as a state. Moreover, it does not get a recommendation for grants, as Puducherry is not under the ambit of the Central Finance Commission.
On the positive side, unlike in the past when government employees were opposed to statehood, now, for the first time, the Confederation of Government Employees Association, representing a majority of the government employees, has come out in support of Statehood. As in many states, Puducherry too can continue to provide Central pay-scales; financial issues would get settled once Puducherry becomes a state, said CH Balamohanan, honorary president of the confederation.
On the other hand, P Lakshmanasamy, general secretary, Puducherry State Government Central Federation, representing some of the employees, as opposed to statehood on the grounds that employees of quasi-government organisations are not being paid salaries due to financial crunch.
Politically almost all parties including the ruling Congress, its ally DMK, opposition parties AINRC and AIADMK, and Left parties have expressed their support for statehood. Even the BJP, which did not want to clarify its stand, however, has not opposed statehood either. BJP state president V Saminathan said that they were in favour of what is good for Puducherry and would abide by the decision of the BJP leadership. Even the MLAs of the Congress, AINRC, AIADMK and DMK from Karaikal region have supported the demand for statehood.
The only opposition to statehood seems to have come from the two MLAs of the outlying regions of Mahe and Yanam, who have not joined the delegation led by the CM.
Despite the statehood proposal submitted by the CM, including all four regions of the UT, the Mahe and Yanam MLAs do not favour statehood as it will lead to the merger of the two regions. However, there is a perception that the government is not serious about statehood. It is just to hide the deficiencies, detractors say.