Tourism employees stage protest for better salaries

Guwahati: Employees of the Assam Tourism Development Corporation (ATDC) have staged a protest seeking introduction of the revised pay scale of the Sixth Pay Commission for them. They rued at being deprived of their dues in spite of the corporation earning huge profits during the stir on Saturday.

"The pay of ministers and MLAs have shot up and other government employees too are drawing salaries according to the new revised pay scale but inspite of our requests we are denied of the appropriate pay," said ATDC employees' association president P C Kalita.

"We hold chief minister Tarun Gogoi responsible for this. The government has invested huge sums for development of the tourism sector but did not care about he people who do all the work," Kalita added.

An employee said the corporation had several financial leverages which indicated that the staff could be provided with the new pay scale without any problem.

"The corporation has not availed any assistance from the government for the last 10 to 12 years to meet its revenue expenditures like payment of salaries," Kalita said adding that at present the corporation has 72 regular employees and 110 across the state.

"Moreover, there is consistent growth in the corporation's business. Manpower has also not been increased. We think the organization is capable of bearing the additional financial dues to be incurred for payment of salaries according to the revised scale," he said.

UP: Budget targets higher development trajectory

LUCKNOW: The state budget 2011-12 needs be analysed in the backdrop of 12th Finance Commission's targets on six indicators, which all states are required to achieve. These indicators include Fiscal Deficit to be brought down to 3% of GSDP; Revenue deficit to be eliminated; Own tax revenues higher than 6% of GSDP; Non tax Revenues higher than 1.4% of GSDP; and Debt burden lower than 30% of GSDP.

Interestingly, on five of the six indicators, UP has outperformed the targets in 2008-09 itself. Debt was the only indicator where UP has consistently lagged behind the targets.

The impact of the implementation of Sixth Pay Commission recommendations along with the global meltdown compromised UPs Fiscal Deficit which slipped to over 6% of GSDP, revenue surplus also came down significantly.

However, in 2010-11 fiscal deficit has been brought down to 3.9% and was expected to go down to around 2.9% in 2011-12. Even revenue surplus rises to over 5,000 crore in 2011-12. This certainly is an indicator of increased fiscal consolidation and a step towards improved fiscal responsibility.

Equally significant is the rise in capital expenditure. In 1998, the year of fiscal crisis in UP, Capital expenditure shrank to less then 6%. In other words state was left with no capacity to initiate development.

By 2009-10 it rose to 18% and now it rises to 25.7% of the total expenditure. This is a critical indicator of states capacity to initiate development, and suggests towards the potential of the state to move into faster growth path. The rise in social expenditure is equally significant.

Education alone records a rise of 19.6%. This development space is substantially the outcome of revenue buoyancy in state taxes. It needs to be highlighted that in 2009, revenues of government of India fell by around Rs 60,000 crore but UP's revenues rose by 17% in the same year.

The story seems to continue in this budget too. The state's own revenue rises to around Rs 50,000 crore which is higher then the projections made in 2008-09 by some of the international agencies.

In the last several years, Debt has been a challenge spot in successive state budgets. Till three years back state debt was measured at over 50% of GSDP against the 12th finance commission Target of 30%.

Last year, it was brought down to around 40% of GSDP. On five of the Finance Commission identified indicators UP today is one of the better performing states in the country. Debt burden, however, is the genie which is yet to be belted. This year's budget projects debt to fall to 32% of GSDP. These are projected values but if they are achieved it will be a huge step towards fiscal consolidation.

Fiscal space is the pedestal on which the state weaves its effort towards development and social change. It need be noted that during the 1990s UP's rate of growth was only 4%. In the past three years the state has grown at over 7%. Rising fiscal space and increased capital expenditure have hugely contributed to this changing story.

The budget indicates towards stabilising state finances, rising capital expenditures and falling deficits.

This year is also significant because Government of India's revenues, which have taken a beating, have begun to rise implying that states share in Central taxes will also rise; The arrears burden of the sixth pay commission has also been taken care of and will not burden future budgets. This will only improve the fiscal space further. In other words, the state is development ready, and an appropriate marshalling of resources can take the state into the higher trajectory of development and social change.