Coming down heavily on the announcement of freebies by political parties before elections, the Supreme Court recently asked “are we not creating a class of parasites”, and said that freebies are disincentivising people from working and, in states like Maharashtra, drying up the labour force. Similarly, in August 2024, the Delhi High Court pulled up authorities over the deaths of three UPSC aspirants who drowned in the basement of a coaching centre, saying such tragedies are bound to happen when there is no collection of taxes due to a "freebies culture”. “Freebies culture” is somehow wooing a greater section of the country and even the state of Assam, but is also having an indirect impact in the society which is leaving many people unskilled and unemployed.
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In 2019 budget announcement in Assam, the BJP-led Assam government had doled out a bouquet of sops purportedly with an eye on the general elections in the same year. In 2019 it was announced that skill training would be provided to 10,000 tea tribe youths so that they can set up small businesses for which they would be provided a one-time grant of Rs 25,000. Moreover, 500 girls from the tea tribe community would be inducted in the auxiliary nurse midwifery and general nursing and midwifery training programmes on a monthly stipend. Similarly, there are many other freebies announced in the state from free ration, to Arunodoi, health schemes, and many more.
The dilemma is that there is serious lack of skilled manpower in the state. People don’t get skilled hospitality sector workers, construction workers, house helps, carpenters, electrician and many other professionals who are required for a developed state. Many migrant workers from other states and even countries are coming and working in Assam. Many of our local population are unemployed but don’t want to get skilled as they are content with the freebies. Are we seriously not creating parasites?