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Source: Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 38, No. 17 (Apr. 26 - May 2, 2003), pp. 1616-1617
Published by: Economic and Political Weekly
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4413472
Accessed: 17-02-2016 11:53 UTC
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STATE FINANCES
Case
for
'Financial
Emergency'?
venthemostardentadvocateof stateautonomyin afederation
would be hardput to protestwere the centreto invoke the
'financialemergency'provisionsof the Constitutionto chastise
the governmentof Biharfor failureto meetone of its mostbasic
financialobligations,viz, paying salariesto its employees on
time.Longdefunctstate-ownedundertakingsin the state,nearly
50 in number,have on theirrolls some 88,000 employeeswho
reportedlyhave not received their salariesfor years. Over 1.5
lakhpersonsemployedin schools andcolleges aresufferingthe
same fate. Over a thousandof these have died of starvationor
disease. Many have committedsuicide. It has taken a public
interestpetitionto the SupremeCourtto force seriousattention
to theirplightandthattoo afterthesonof anemployeeimmolated
himselffollowingthedeathof his ailingmotherandsisterbecause
of theinabilityof hisfatherto sustainthemandtheghastlytragedy
was reportedin a nationaldaily.
The SupremeCourt,it appears,wants to hear the Attorney
Generalof Indiaon the Bihargovernment'splea thatthe onus
lies with the centrebecausethe state has no money to pay the
employees.Eminentlawyerswill now battleit out to establish
whose responsibilityit is to pay salariesto the employeesof the
state'sPSUs. 'Howcanthestategovernmentbe heldaccountable
whentheydonothappen
forpayingemployeesof itsundertakings
to be on the government'srolls?',it will no doubtbe asked.Are
not the undertakingsseparatelegal entities in which the state
governmentis merelyan equity-holderwith limitedliability?Is
not the centre that holds the purse-stringsof the nation also
responsiblefor the state's penury?And what aboutthe courts
whereliquidationproceedingsfor theundertakings
arelanguishing for years?Shouldtheyalso not sharepartof theblame?Now
thatthe SupremeCourtis seized of the matter,hopefullysome
directionswill comeoratleastsomeinterimreliefwill be ordered
to be given. But the matterraises some fundamentalquestions.
Is thereno remedyif a state goes broke and stops paying its
employeesor those of the undertakingsowned by it for years
1616
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TEXTILE INDUSTRY
Future
at
Stake
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1617