In our country, the RTI law is very effective because through it, information hidden in government files can be obtained. One such example is when an RTI activist asked the government about the issue of environment, how much money has been collected from the taxpayers in the form of cess and how much has been spent. It was found that in almost a decade, several lakh crore rupees have come to the government treasury, but only a quarter of that amount has been spent. The issue was that the Ministry of Environment, Pollution Department and other institutions should buy equipment to control pollution so that citizens can get relief from their use. But the equipment that was purchased included brooms or cleaning machines, smog towers, generators running on CNG instead of diesel in Delhi hospitals, etc. There must be some more such devices, but where are they all, who is using them, is any minister or leader using them personally, there is no accountability. According to one information, 50 crores were collected at one time, but the expenditure was less than 10 lakhs. There is so much outcry about pollution in NCR, work and business are affected due to the ‘cut’ grapes every day and people have difficulty breathing, but the government seems to be equally careless. The ‘cess’ levied on income tax is an abbreviation of Central Excise and Service Tax, it seems that whenever the Finance Minister wants, he can declare it and collect it, there is no mention of whether it is needed or not, where it is to be used. Till now, the money has been lying in the government treasury without being spent, there is no accounting for it. It is worth mentioning that cess cannot be used on any other item. But cess is like the cream on milk, which can be easily ‘spoiled’ for personal or political gain, no one is asking. Let us clarify with some examples. The amount collected in this way can be used for expanding educational facilities, opening new schools or arranging educational equipment or resources in the existing ones. The benefit of cess levied for similar health facilities can be obtained for treatment in government hospitals. But there is no policy about spending one or two percent of the money and spending the remaining amount elsewhere. The story of cess is that the Finance Minister has to keep preparing to make a record of maximum collection during his tenure.
Double Triple Tax System
Any person, whether he works in the government or private sector, is a businessman or an industrialist, all have to pay tax to the government in some form or the other. The biggest weapon is – GST. Which can be used to blow the nose of any person or businessman. Usually this is also being collected in the same way, give it to him without any question, otherwise you may have to pay a fine or face court action. If someone makes a deliberate mistake and gets punished, this is understandable, but the mistake made unintentionally and due to the ambiguity of the law is also not heard, you have no choice but to accept the action taken against you. Government officials do not leave any opportunity to fill the government treasury by misusing their position and the figures of the amount collected in this way increase rapidly. They get credit by collecting more and more. But this usually causes the honest person or businessman to suffer.
Income decreased, expenditure increased
The figures of improvement in our country’s economy are presented in such a way that it is natural to create the illusion that we are moving forward more strongly or are going to become rich. This claim seems hollow when the reality comes out that most people do not even have enough money to live on and they have to take loans. Along with this, some people have so much money that it does not decrease even by pointless spending. An example of government waste is that the government showed its generosity by exempting income of 12 lakhs from tax, but ten years ago, whatever they earned and even after paying tax on it, they would have something left. But today, even if they earn 12 lakhs, they cannot save anything because inflation has increased three to four times. This exemption would have mattered if their income had doubled or tripled. To put it bluntly, if this exemption had been Rs 18 lakh, we could have compared it to the situation ten years ago. Due to red tape, corruption and policies that encourage cash transactions, today there is no money left in the pockets of the common man, people are left calculating which expenses should be cut. There is no match between the rate of salary increase and the increase in the prices of goods. A person thinks that the government is convincing him that his economic condition is improving, but the reality is something else. He does not get relief from debt and despite all the government claims, the person feels a decrease in his real income. There is no disagreement about the laws being strict, but when bribes have to be paid for small tasks under the guise of these, then the situation becomes serious. Corruption is at its peak due to lack of transparency, if you complain to any official, you have to bear the consequences. So, no matter how much the government advertises its cleanliness, the common man understands everything about this hollowness. The question is, is there any alternative to this, if notSo what can be done that can give people some relief? The question is also why those who follow the rules are the ones who suffer the most. It seems that one should adopt that path, no matter how one’s work is done, and find mental liberation.
