When house is under fire, would you change curtains in your room?

Lockdown 1.0: March 25 — Apr 14

Lockdown 2.0: Apr 15 — May 3

Lockdown 3.0: May 3 — May 17

The largest democracy with 135 Cr people is under lockdown since last 49 days. It was a brave decision by the Central Government as it opted to keep people safe at the expense of economy.

The lockdown resulted in mixed outcomes. The important objective of containing the virus has been moderately successful as the identified hotspots have been limited to some of the cities. However recent spike in daily cases is a cause of concern. Some experts are even saying that India is yet to reach its peak and next 2–3 months are going to be extremely crucial.

The downside of the lockdown is largely felt by small businesses and migrant workers. The stories of migrant workers stranded at various places often make it to headlines. I often wonder what would have been such a pressing challenge that people would dare to walk 1000+ km braving police action, hunger and scorching heat. People are walking with kids as small as one year old under such extremely challenging conditions. Such news of migrants saddens me deeply.

The poorest section of the society has been the hardest hit due to lockdown. We have no idea how long Corona will continue to create mayhem in our country. Under such circumstances, what we need to do. “Save as much as possible and spend on really important items likes healthcare, support small businesses, providing support to poor etc.” Every penny saved is important.

But when I hear about ideas like “Project Central Vista” with a whopping budget of Rs20,000 Cr, I am suddenly confronted with myriad thoughts.

All our focus and effort should be towards containing spread of Covid19 and bring economy to normalcy.

When Government has increased taxes on petrol/diesel as the international crude oil price has reached rock bottom, that should give us a hint about looming financial distress.

Liquor shops are open and government is collecting hefty tax to address the budget shortfall. However, liquor sale has made a mockery of social distancing and it may very well negate all the efforts we have made during lockdown.

Economy is under distress and we have very long way to go.

When the house is under fire, would you try to change the curtains in your room. You won’t. Isn’t it!

So why government should even think about Rs 20,000 Cr project — Central Vista?