AAP did well in Delhi elections and after much ado Kejriwal has sworn in as Delhi's CM. The AAP's election promises seemed quite impossible and to a lot of people's surprise, it is trying to fulfill them. I am one of the supporters of AAP. Not because I was impresses by all the promises mentioned in the manifesto but because I wanted change and the anti corruption policies that it promised to bring lured me. Now, when I look at how it is moving ahead, frankly, I am not very happy.
The free water supply and 50% rate cuts of electricity as the election manifesto were more of publicist moves which any corrupted party would also love to do. When I saw Arvind Kejiwal I saw an ex-IITian and a bureaucratic background who will run country as a successful business having socialist measures as well. The way these water and electricity moves are delivered, it has put a burden on exchequer and subsidies comes with a lot of free riding.
The better way would have been to deliver better management. The audit of power distribution firms is a welcome step. It has been lingering on for quite some time for some reason, valid or not. but it is giving a clear signals to the firms against cooked books. Yesterday when 50% rate slash in electricity was announced, we had a power cut for 8 hours continuous. They said it a fault but it gets me thinking I want to pay for the services and would definitely not like the situation where I don't pay because I don't get. Also, cheaper units to some limit will also encourage people for power theft and meter maneuvering.
Leaving the quality of services aside, I don't want AAP to make people happy by using subsidies. I don't want us to get false hopes that this is the future of Delhi promised by AAP because it is not. It is our money and I want it to be used on better delivery. These are short term measures.
I request Kejriwal to use all the money from the taxes, from leakages and make the kind of fool proof system wherein leakages can be checked and frameworks are available to utilize the money for better tomorrow.
