Thiruvananthapuram : KIIFB project proposals shall not be considered while preparing of State Budget. In the letter to MLAs seeking proposals to include in the Budget, this has been hinted. The instruction has been sent in prior years too and aims at preventing MLAs from exempting proposals meant for KIIFB, said Finance Minister KN Balagopal at press conference in reply to questions.
It’s not right to refer to letters to MLAs and propagate that KIIFB is in some kind of trouble. Sufficient funds have been made available to KIIFB. In the past one-and-half years, KIIFB has passed Bills to the tune of nearly Rs 18,000 crores. Projects are progressing in timely manner. There’s no financial crisis as of now. However, the Centre’s plan to add KIIFB funding to State borrowings and thereby lower borrowing limits, will hamper State development in a big way. It is assumed the Centre cannot run that plan for long.
The situation is such that, not only States, even Centre can come upon funding sources only through such mechanisms. Though State has financial strains, there is no crisis in terms of carrying out developmental and welfare activities. The Kerala economy is growing. The growth rate is high. Per Capita income is about Rs 3 lakhs. The national average figures at half of this. Kerala tops charts among states on several development indexes including Health and Education. But to be saying, Kerala should not ask its due from Centre owing to this, is unacceptable. The stand now seems like, dues shall be paid only if there are convincing hardships.
The State’s revenue income has risen. There has been an increase of Rs 13,000 crore last year. There would be an estimated Rs 10,000 crore of added income this year. There are certain departments and services that have seeb no tax change in three decades, the Minister told reporters, adding that, rate revision is very much required.
