In government circles, there is a new phrase doing the rounds. “No money in the kitty.”

Now that is a very strange sentence for a state like Maharashtra. It is a bit like hearing that a five-star hotel has run out of food, or that a sweet shop in Mumbai has run out of sugar.

The Maharashtra State Contractors Association has announced a shutdown. Roads will not be built. Government work will not move. The reason is simple. Payments of ninety six thousand crores are pending.

That is not small change you find between your sofa cushions. That is the kind of money that makes calculators nervous.

We live in one of the highest tax paying states in the country. Mumbai proudly hosts one of the richest municipal corporations in the world. Money flows in like traffic at Sion Circle during peak hour. Continuous, unstoppable, and slightly chaotic.

So naturally the question arises. Where has the money gone?

Because it certainly has not gone into the roads.

If you want proof, just take a drive. Any road will do. Your suspension will file for early retirement.

And if you survive the roads, wait for the rains. Roads become rivers. Cars become boats. And citizens become reluctant swimmers wondering if they should have carried fishing nets to work.

Now let us move to pavements. Those mysterious structures that exist in theory but are rarely seen in practice. When you do find one, it is either occupied by parked bikes, ambitious vendors, or holes that seem to have been dug by archaeologists searching for ancient civilizations.

Garbage is another story.

It appears faithfully every morning like a government employee, but unlike the employee, it does not disappear by evening. It stays. It grows. It develops personality.

Public transport, of course, deserves a mention. It teaches you patience, flexibility, and occasionally yoga, especially when you are trying to fit into a local train at peak hour.

So again, where has the money gone?

We all know the answer. It has gone into keeping people in power. Into schemes where money quietly lands into bank accounts before elections. Into subsidies that appear generously timed. Into religious announcements that sound spiritual but come with very earthly calculations. Into deals and distributions that never quite find their way into neat little budget documents.

And now, when the contractors have finally said, “No more work without payment,” the cupboard is suddenly empty.

Do not worry though. The solution is already on its way.

More taxes.

Because when there is no money in the kitty, the easiest thing to do is not to ask where it went, but to refill it. And who will refill it?

You and me.

So the next time your car hits a pothole deep enough to qualify as a small lake, just smile.

You are not just driving on a bad road.

You are contributing to a very successful system…!

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