The Sikkim Democratic Front government has decided to open its floodgates by handing out a bonanza of freebies amounting to crores to the people through Janata Melas in January, about four months before the Assembly elections are scheduled to be held in the state.

The government has held such a mela, or fair, in the past as well, but the largesse on offer this time is mindboggling - from providing funds for the construction of new houses to distribution water filters and pressure cookers, the people have never had it so good.

Funds for the construction of houses will be provided under the Chief Minister’s Rural Housing Mission under which a concrete house will be constructed at a cost of Rs 12.5 lakh for each beneficiary. “We will construct 100 houses in each constituency. We will also provide funds for upgrading 1500 houses in each constituency,” said S. B. Subedi, the state’s rural development minister.

Sikkim has 32 Assembly constituencies, but the scheme will cover 31 constituencies since the last one is a seat of the sangha, which is a body of monks.

Subedi said a survey to identify the beneficiaries was currently underway. “The government officials, including the BDOs, are carrying out the survey. We want to ensure that the benefits are given to people who need them the most,” he added.

The melas will be held in Rabongla, Namchu Jorethang and Yanyang in South Sikkim, Kabi, Mangan and Chungthang in North Sikkim, Rangpo, Rongli, Pakyong and Gangtok in East Sikkim, and Soreng, Dentam, Geyzing and Yuksam in West Sikkim.

The other freebies on offer include corrugated sheets, pressure cookers and water filters, besides funds for the repair or new construction of places of worship of all religions.

Chief minister Pawan Chamling also announced that the government’s “one family one job” scheme will be rolled out by next month. “Recently, we took another landmark police decision, ‘One family one job’, so that economically weak families can at least have one member in government employment…the policy will be implemented in letter and spirit by December 2018, enabling the first lot of beneficiaries to join their duties from 2nd January, 2019,” he said in a written statement.

The chief minister appealed to the people to help the government identify the genuine beneficiaries, and in case of any discrepancies, report the matter to his office.

The melas and schemes are seen as an attempt to woo the voters before the coming elections. “Look at the timing of the melas. They are held before every important election. The last mega mela was held before the panchayat elections last year,” said an observer.

“These are nothing but a naked attempt to lure the voters at the expense of the state exchequer by the ruling SDF.”