Scrap the guarantees: why universal doles must end amid systemic misuse

 * BVSee

The core duty of any elected government is to act as a careful trustee of public money. Taxpayer funds should be used to create long-term public wealth, not for short-term political gain. When a state moves from building real assets to handing out populist freebies, its economic base starts to weaken. Karnataka is facing that moment now. The government’s push for massive universal guarantee schemes has drained the treasury and left key development sectors neglected. If the state wants to avoid lasting economic damage, it must end these unsustainable doles and redirect funds to productive public goods.

The consequences are already clear on the ground. Civic infrastructure has taken the biggest hit. Roads in cities and villages are in poor shape, full of potholes and unsafe for daily travel. Public transport corporations are struggling to run buses on time due to lack of funds for maintenance and staff. Major irrigation projects that farmers depend on are stuck halfway, with no money to finish canals and pipelines. This directly hurts agriculture and rural incomes.

Human capital is suffering too. Government schools and colleges do not have enough teachers, labs, or even basic facilities like toilets and drinking water. Universities are unable to fund research or upgrade classrooms. Public hospitals face shortages of medicines, equipment, and doctors, forcing poor families to turn to expensive private care. At the same time, lakhs of posts across departments are vacant. Police stations, revenue offices, and local bodies are understaffed, which delays services, clearances, and grievance redressal for ordinary citizens.

The math behind this crisis is simple. Karnataka is spending close to one lakh crore rupees every year on universal subsidies and cash transfers. That leaves very little for capital spending. In public finance, revenue spending on direct transfers gives almost no long-term return. It does not create assets or jobs. But money put into roads, housing, schools, and water projects builds infrastructure, generates employment, and widens the tax base for the future. Today, the state is seeing delayed salaries for employees, contractors waiting months for payments, and public works that never start. This is a direct result of skewed priorities.

Weak oversight has made the problem worse. The recent Comptroller and Auditor General audit of the Griha Lakshmi scheme found major irregularities. Thousands of different beneficiaries were mapped to the same bank accounts. This raises serious questions about leakages, ghost beneficiaries, and whether the money is even reaching the right people. When schemes are universal and rushed, monitoring becomes nearly impossible, and misuse becomes easy.

True welfare is not about creating dependency through monthly cash. It is about giving people the tools to improve their own lives. That means good roads to reach markets, reliable power and water for homes and businesses, quality education that leads to jobs, and healthcare that people can trust. These are the public goods that lift families out of poverty permanently. Handouts may win applause today, but they do not build a stronger economy tomorrow.

Political claims that “everything is running smoothly” cannot hide the cracks. Growth is slowing because the basics are being ignored. If Karnataka wants to remain an economic leader, its leadership needs to show fiscal courage. The first step is to dismantle the structure of universal guarantee schemes. The thousands of crores locked in these programs should be shifted immediately. Use that money to finish pending irrigation projects so farmers get water. Fast-track housing for the poor. Modernize classrooms and fill teacher vacancies. Recruit staff to run hospitals and government offices efficiently.

Karnataka’s strength has always come from investment in knowledge, industry, and infrastructure. Going back to that model is the only way out of this self-created fiscal crisis. A government that acts like a responsible trustee, not a distributor of doles, can still rescue the state. The choice is between short-term popularity and long-term prosperity. For the sake of the next generation, the state must choose to build, not just distribute.