Multiple stories, published in various newspapers, about Punjab government’s much-touted yellow cab scheme cast dark shadows on its success. According to latest reports, the provincial government has once again lowered the criteria for eligibility of applicants for the scheme. The decision was reportedly made after it was discovered that most of the applicants did not meet the current criteria. The government has now waived the requirement of having a valid driving license for one year prior to applying for a Public Service Vehicle (PSV) license.
The multiple readjustments of the criteria for the yellow cab scheme shows how ill planned this scheme actually is. It seems the only lesson learnt from the disastrous yellow cab scheme of 1992/93 is that the cars being distributed this time are locally manufactured and not imported. Also there are no clear policies on the practical aspects of the scheme such as controlled taxi fare, specified taxi stands, penalties for breaching the agreement between the cab owner and the state, and so on.
The basic purpose of the yellow cab scheme in itself is questionable. In the north, the roads of larger cities are already choked with private and public vehicles. Instead of providing relief to the residents by focusing on the public transport system, the provincial government is gearing its energies on widening roads, building overhead bridges and underpasses. Critics already question the long-term feasibility of such projects, claiming that if the vehicles added on the roads each year are not controlled with heavier taxes and public transport alternatives, the newly widened roads and bridges will start choking within 10 to 15 years. Not to forget the effect it will have on environment and energy resources as fuel crisis doesn’t seem to be ending anytime soon. Therefore, a more sensible solution would be to put extra emphasis on mass public transport system.
A more dangerous aspect of this scheme is that applicants with freshly acquired licenses can now get these taxis. A 15-day crash course, as reported by some newspapers, before issuing the PSV licenses is not nearly enough to ensure safe driving practices in a country where road traffic accidents are already so frequent. Passengers who utilize public transport vehicles must be assured of their safety, by ensuring vehicles are driven by people who have earned rightful qualification and competence. No amount of political mileage and project expediency can justify putting the unsuspecting passengers at risk.
In addition to the yellow cab scheme, another project initiated by the provincial government is Daanish school system. The idea of providing quality education to children of lower income backgrounds is sound and should be encouraged. However, the question remains why the government is keen on starting new projects instead of spending the same money on improving existing public school system.
According to some estimates, over 34,000 schools in Punjab do not have basic facilities for students and teachers. Also, over 2,000 schools which were hit by the floods last year have received no money in the current budget. Despite these obvious numbers, over 3 billion rupees are being spent on the Chief Minister’s brainchild and lauded by all the king’s men. What is the purpose of attempting to reinvent the wheel if not only for a catchy slogan for the upcoming general elections?
The PML-N traditionally plays politics on the popular sentiment instead of formulating clear, cost-effective, long-term strategies for combating numerous problems of the province. The debacle of Sasti Roti scheme last year is one glaring example of this impulsive attitude. Instead of generating revenues by increasing the tax base in the province, as the Chief Minister had promised before the current budget, the government persisted with an “election friendly” budget, lowering its tax revenue target from Rs 91.58 billion last year to Rs 88.52 billion this year.
The people of Punjab deserve to receive quality services from their government, which comes into power only because of their votes. The PML-N would be ill-advised to continue with badly-planned projects which might yet come back and haunt itas the election approaches.
A shorter version was published in Business Recorder (28 August 2011).
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