Editor,

Across our country, we are witnessing a quiet shift where the traditional welfare state is increasingly pivoting towards public-private partnership (PPP) model. The cycle has become a modern Pandora’s Box: a vital government department or public utility is systematically starved of adequate budgetary support, pushed to the brink of institutional neglect, and subsequently handed over to private players in the name of a ‘revamp’.

The paradox of the PPP model lies in its financial architecture. Private companies do not print money; they fund these infrastructure projects primarily through bank loans. These loans are backed by the hard-earned deposits of everyday citizens, with the state government often acting as the ultimate guarantor.

This raises a fundamental question: if public funds and state guarantees bear the foundational risk, why are private entities allowed to step into public domains and extract a significant share of the revenue?

We can observe this dilemma unfolding locally through two major initiatives in Arunachal Pradesh in two essential services departments. The first is the implementation of the revamped distribution sector scheme (RDDS) under which electricity smart meters are being rolled out via TOTEX model. Under this arrangement, private companies manage meters running on state generated power and built on public land, taking a cut of the revenue. This begs the question: why is our Power Department – staffed with highly qualified and highly paid chief engineers, executives, assistant and junior engineers -deemed incapable of managing state purchase meters? Why must a private intermediary be introduced to siphon off revenue that belongs to the public exchequer?

A similar trend is emerging within the Arunachal Pradesh State Transport Services (APSTS) regarding Volvo bus operations. Decades ago, when technology was virtually nonexistent, mobile networks were absent and road conditions were treacherous, the APSTS successfully operated vital transit lines against all odds. Today our APSTS officers are recruited through the rigorous APPSCCE. They are highly capable professionals who, if given the right resources, can manage state assets just as efficiently as their peers in other departments. Instead of entering into revenue-sharing PPP models why cannot the government directly procure a fleet of Volvo buses for the APSTS to manage and slowly scale up historical routes and vital routes?

This aggressive push towards the PPP framework across sectors forces us to wonder if this is a proven global best practice or simply the result of corporate lobbying pushing us towards the gradual privatisation of public office. If this trend continues unchecked the younger generation of Arunachal may soon find themselves stripped of the job security, satisfaction and honour that traditionally come with public service (government job). The government must re-evaluate whether it is safeguarding public welfare or mere leasing it out.

Bojum Lusi Sorum