List of priorities for new government

Grim COVID-19 situation in Assam with an alarming rise in positivity and death toll necessitates some urgent decisive intervention by the State government.
List of priorities for new government

Grim COVID-19 situation in Assam with an alarming rise in positivity and death toll necessitates some urgent decisive intervention by the State government. The state can least afford to lose the crucial time needed for such intervention on account of any delay in a new full-fledged government assuming office from the present caretaker government. Managing the pandemic situation to prevent the spike in cases overwhelm the health systems and trigger a crisis must be the top priority of the new government. Urgent launching of the vaccination for the 18-44 age group is a crucial intervention but is yet to be rolled out in the state. Adar C. Poonawalla, the CEO of Serum Institute of India that manufactures the COVID vaccine Covishield that the company has so far received orders of over 26 crore doses of which it has supplied 15 crore doses. It has also got a 100 % advance of Rs 1732.50 crore from the Central government for the supply of the next trance of 11 crore doses in the next few months. The vaccine manufacturer will supply another 11 crore doses in the second channel for states and private hospitals in the next few months. Less than four lakh vaccines are available with the Assam government which will barely last three to four days. Availability of second doses on time for those who have already taken the first dose must be ensured to achieve the desired objectives of vaccinations. Breaking the COVID-19 chain and flattening the pandemic curve is going to top the list of priorities for the new government. Long-drawn disruption in normal economic activities on account of the pandemic will lead to resource crunch on account of likely fall in revenue collection. Taking stock of the preparedness of the state for the management of impending flood situation is the second most important task on the list. The state must remain prepared for a high flood situation and this calls for the State government to undertake a comprehensive review of the work of repairs on the breaches in the embankments caused by waves of the flood last year. The flood preparations this year is going to be a daunting task given the prevailing pandemic situation affecting most districts. Even during rescue and relief operations, strict adherence to COVID-19 safety protocols will require an adequate number of fully vaccinated rescue team and rescue boats to prevent a surge in infection. Home isolation of infected people in flood-hit areas will not be possible and COVID care centres on places of shelters such as government schools and buildings, embankments may have to be built in advance in anticipation of a crisis to prevent the spread of infection. Identifying the most vulnerable places prone to high flood situation and prioritising vaccination of all above 18 plus in such areas can be considered as a strategy of dealing with a multi-disaster situation. Various development works such as central sector programmes for safe drinking water, development works such as the construction of roads and bridges, health and educational infrastructure projects take a back seat or slow down after the Model Code of Conduct comes into force during the election. The new government will be faced with the challenges of meeting target datelines and submitting utilisation certificates on time to avail subsequent release of fund from the Central government for the development work. The State presented a vote-on-account instead of a full budget on account of Assembly elections. Preparing a full budget will require making a correct projection of resource mobilisation and judicious expenditures over the remaining period of the current financial year. For the budget to reflect poll promises of jobs and employment as implementable proposals will require meticulous planning. Elaborate discussions with economists, industry and trade bodies, various domain experts and all stakeholders can be rewarding and ensure budget proposals and announcement to be more pragmatic. The primary challenge for the new government is to become innovative in its approach to carry forward the development projects and schemes and prevent the prevailing pandemic management from overshadowing such activities. It is hoped that expediting health infra projects in district, sub-divisions and at the village, level will be given special attention to building resilience against pandemics. Lessons must be learnt from frequent and long duration disruption of academic calendar of school, colleges, and universities on account of prevailing COVID-19 pandemic and how vast majority of students, more particularly in rural areas could not attend online classes. The fast expansion of internet connectivity in rural areas of the state and making it accessible free of cost for poor and downtrodden students are also expected to be high on the list of priorities. This will ensure that no student gets excluded from online classes during a pandemic. The list of works needed to be executed for faster progress will be long, but the challenge is to set the right priorities in the right order.

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