People's Democracy

FRIDAY, February 23, 2001 is a memorable day as far as the Kerala Legislative Assembly is concerned. It was the day on which the last budget of the first full-term LDF government in the state was presented. The finance minister T Sivadasamenon, presenting an interim budget did it in a befitting manner. The reason for the interim budget was because the elections are due in two months. The declared purpose of the budget is the total development of the state with due and sufficient emphasis on the basic needs of the people, therefore the proposal is to hasten the developmental activities of the state government in the coming five years.

A particular feature of the budget is the existence of a surplus of Rs 461.39 crore that will emerge at the end of the financial year in the course of implementation of the proposals in the present budget, although a deficit of Rs 859.89 crore already exists as on March 31, 2001, the budget as a whole will show a deficit of Rs 398.90 crore at the end of the next financial year.

The local media had predicted that the budget would impose new taxes upon the people. They have been proved wrong as there are no new taxes in the budget. The highlights of the budget are as under :

1. A sum of Rs 161 crore is earmarked to retain the rationing system, severely damaged by the policies of the central government.

2. Two instalments of DA will be awarded to the state employees.

3. A sum of Rs 500 crore is earmarked for agriculture.

4. Provisions are made for the commencement of 21,000 units of small-scale industries.

5. An attractive sum of Rs 2969 crore has been allotted for the promotion and improvement of education in the state.

6. The local self-governing bodies will get a sum of Rs 1431 crore.

7. Rs 460 crore is alloted for roads and bridges.

8. An Information Technology Development Centre will be started with an initial expense of Rs 1 crore.

9. An international Technology Habitat will be launched at Kochi.

An assistance of 800 million US dollars has been granted by the Asian Development Bank to be released after elections to the state legislature.

The Budget contains provisions for a multifaceted developmental programme of the state in the coming five years in various fields, including information technology, power, tourism, etc. The finance minister’s budgetary address was a scientific analysis of the economic condition of the state.

In spite of the acute crisis into which the national economy has been plunged, the state LDF government has been able to maintain the stability of the state economy by keeping it out of the whirlpool of the national crisis. Menon naturally took pride in this feat of the state government. The strategy of the development of the state was based on the People’s Plan and decentralization of powers. Accorded a great welcome by the people of Kerala, the government will continue pursuing this strategy with the help and support of the people.

The budget proposes to protect and retain the rationing system, running in the state for the last many decades. The central food policy has been implicitly anti-people in general, and especially against the people of Kerala. By making a division amongst the people the central food policy provided rations only to people considered to be below the poverty line. The state budget declares that whatever be the difficulties, the system of statutory rationing will continue in the state, and has earmarked a sum of Rs 161 crore towards this, and also allocated Rs 50 crore to the Civil Supplies Corporation for effective intervention in the market.

The allocation of Rs 500 crore to agricultural sector includes the provisions made for the People’s Plan Programme also. A sum of Rs 21.5 crore is intended to be spent for improvements in coconut cultivation. Rs three crore is set aside for improvements in pepper cultivation by the Pepper Technology Mission Project. The Cashew Development Programme, which is already in existence, will get a further of Rs 2.25 crore. The tax relaxation introduced for rubber will continue for one more year.

A number of new fishing harbours are proposed in the budget. A time-bound project has been espoused in the budget for the construction and opening of fishing harbours at Muthalapozhi, Kayamkulam, Ponnani, and Thalai. At Koyilandy a new harbour besides the existing one will be constructed for fishing.

The budget has made provisions for a meaningful employment programme in the state. It is to establish 2100 small-scale industrial units in the state in the next year, from which it is expected about 89,000 young men and women will get employment. For the infrastructure development of industry, KINFRA will be allotted a sum of Rs 21 crore.

An industrial park will be established at Kidangur under the auspices of the KINFRA. The Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation will get a sum of Rs 30 crore. The Cashew Development Corporation will get Rs 5 crore. The handloom industry will get a sum of Rs 21.75 crore. The weavers will be provided with old-age homes.

The budget has left Rs 11 crore for the development of the Trivandrum International Airport. The distribution of drinking water will get a sum of Rs 221.27 crore. The health sector gets Rs 753 crore. During the next year 50 new Homeo dispensaries will be started, five new Ayurvedic hospitals with 20 beds each, and indigenous medicinal centres in 25 villages.

An attractive sum of Rs 460 crore will be spent on roads and bridges. A few large-scale road construction programmes are in the pipe-line as a result of the fruitful discussions of the state chief minister with the prime minister of Malaysia. These are the Kottayam-Kumarakom road, Sabarimala road and Kumarakom-Cherthala road.

Menon pointed to the great strides the power sector had made during the last five years. Unlike during the UDF regime, at present there are neither power-cuts nor load-shedding. In the next five years it is proposed that projects for the production 1000 megawatts of electricity will be completed, most of which will be hydroelectric projects, for which considerable sums have been allocated, along with general improvements in the power sector.

The budget aims at a wholesome development in the field of Information Technology. So far, Kerala has become the headquarters of the South Indian Software companies. A sum of Rs 5 crore is earmarked for development of the Techno Park at Trivandrum. At Kochi a Technology Habitat of international standard will be established. A sum of Rs 5 lakh has been granted to the Kerala Press Academy to institute a computers based book-and-document-preservation programme. The IT sector expects an investment of Rs 2400 crore from the private sector. This will be a booster to the IT industry of Kerala. A new IT culture based on the requirements and needs of the people and the nation at large is envisaged in the budget.

In spite of the scandals of the UDF and BJP, the tourism possibilities of the state have been explored and made use of by the government of Kerala during the last five years. The Department of Tourism has strictly adhered to the principle that tourism is not meant to create opportunities to molest our culture; instead, it is to promote our culture while promoting our economy by making use of the economic, commercial and industrial possibilities inherent in tourism. A sum of Rs 47 crore is allocated for the promotion of tourism. A new Guest House will be constructed for the Mumbai Kerala Bhavan. An additional Guest House will be constructed at Ernakulam. Water transport gets a considerable booster in the budget.

A sum of Rs 16.75 crore will be spent for the development of inland waterways. Infrastructure development of rivers, lakes and lagoons of Kerala will get further attention, for which Rs three crore have been allocated. The Destination Kerala Programme will get Rs 6 crore while the Veli Tourism Village will get a sum of Rs one crore for the purchase of land. The budget proposes to develop Kannur and Thenmala as attractive tourist centres.

Another main aspect of the budget is its emphasis on higher professional education. The government intends to launch a wholesome plan in this regard. This plan will enable all eligible students to get facilities for professional education. The allotment to education in the budget is a covetable sum of Rs 2969.37 crore.

The Kerala budget 2001-2002 has envisaged a new scheme of starting professional colleges to accommodate all eligible students. Three poly- technical institutes will be started in Quilon, Alleppey and Palakkad districts. The total allocation for the education sector for the year is Rs 2969.37 crore. For general education the allocation is Rs 118.5 crore. Of this, a sum of Rs 40 crore will be utilized for the higher secondary education. The existing courses in the higher education sector have been restructured to suit the times and the utilization of human resources, to the maximum benefit of the unemployed youth.

During the last three years private and government colleges together started about 300 new courses. The government has taken measures to get the recognition of the AICTE for all B.Tech. and M.Tech. courses in Kerala. A number of new MBA and MCA courses are proposed for the ensuing year besides provisions for the improvement of the existing courses. Eight technical schools, which have been upgraded as polytechnic institutions during 1993-94, will be provided with all sufficient infrastructure facilities. A new polytechnic has been established in Idukki district for modern electronics and IT subjects. The Fine Arts colleges of Trichur and Mavelikkara have been upgraded. With aid from the third Technical Education Project of the World Bank, a few selected polytechnics will be raised to the level of Centres of Excellence. Proposals for this have been already submitted.

The Kerala Interim Budget 2001-2002 presents a happy picture of an optimistic society unlike the Economic Survey presented by the Union home minister.

The Kerala budget is an attempt at saving the people from the economic crisis into which the central government has thrown the people of the country. Gandhiji had given a talisman to the people of India. He said to them that whenever they wanted to do anything, to think about the most helpless among themselves. "If your act, in any way, helps them, take your act to be good; if not, your act will be bad." Kerala’s attempt is to follow this talisman in spite of the central government’s anti-people policy.