THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : The developmental strides made by Kerala proved helpful to mitigate Covid-19 pandemic in the state; Goals set for five-year period were accomplished in span of four years, said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at press meet review on four years of Left governance.
We tided over Ocki, Nipha and century’s worst floods. We have successfully battled new crisis, each of the passing four years brought. At no point were we unnerved and took meticulous care to hold up oour promised goals on track.
And in each crisis, the brotherhood and unity amongst our people proved to be of paramount strength to the state’s survival and success story. For some, the election manifesto is purely means of amassing votes by flaunting promises. They go to the extent of claiming that promises are just that and not meant for fulfillment.
LDF perspective however is markedly different We are of the conviction that promises to people are vows that must be honoured. This is why, each time the govt is able to present a progress report arraying achievements made in the year gone by. This kind of transparent governance is hallmark of the Left government.
It is LDF’s aim to create a healthy, well educated, dignified and lush green Kerala. Four crucial missions have been formulated for this purpose. LIFE mission built 2,19,154 houses, handing them to that many number of families, who for the first time became owners of safe abode for themselves. Procedures have been set in motion to provide land to the landless and construct more housing complexes that will give a home to those still left without one. Also, the govt aims to complete these residential complexes before the end of this year.
Punergeham Scheme was chalked out to give fisherfolk families a home each, where they could now live without fear for their lives.
1,43,000 title deeds have been distributed. The emergence of Covid pandemic disrupted that process to some extent. However, at least 35,000 more titles will be handed over by this yearend .
A standout achievement from Harita Keralam Mission is its revival of rivers that became stagnant over time, mostly from polluted dumping. Wells, ponds, streams other water bodies too were cleansed in the process.
Ardram Mission played a pivotal role in curbing Covid-19 spread in the state. It ramped up health centres, family health centres, pharmacies, OPs and specialties to standards and scale, the world took note of. Advanced Virology Institute too was set up to confront potentially dreadful viruses like Nipah.
The state’s fiscal is estimated to witness a 15 percent spike in expenditure. This is where the Centre should step in and help No aid is forthcoming however and the implications are grave.
The govt set up KIIFB to take care of infrastructure developments in the state, that ran outside budget provisions. It has been planned to meet a fund requirement of Rs 50,000 crore, for developing infrastructure facilities, from outside the budget. It was possible to raise Rs 2,150 crore via issue of Masala bonds. Incidentally, funds from KIIFB helped to carry out five times more of developmental activities in the state. What we have nurtured is the progressive Kerala culture cherished by everybody, CM said.
Community kitchens were started so nobody in the state will go hungry without food owing to covid and lockdown conditions. The govt also succeeded to include everybody into the social security pension scheme, the minister added.
