Social welfare pension and allocation to Supplyco will be paid soon: Finance Minister KN Balagopal

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Finance Minister KN Balagopal announced in the Assembly that five months' arrears of social welfare pension, construction workers' welfare fund pension and allocation to Supplyco will be paid soon. He was replying to the debate on the Appropriation Bill related to the budget.

The state is not in a state of excessive borrowing. The financial situation is not bad. In 2017-18, total tax and non-tax revenue was 15895 crores, now it has increased to 91615 crores. The central provision to include the loan in Public Debt when the social security company and KIIFB take loans, which was later brought in with retrospective effect, put the state in crisis.

3951.34 crore to be paid by the Centre

The state's revenue deficit has come down from 2.6% to 1.48% of GSDP and fiscal deficit has come down from 4.56% to 2.44%. It is an indicator of good financial condition. A total of Rs 3951.34 crore is due from the centre, including 725.45 crores as Health Mission Grant, 513.64 crores as Urban Local Body Grants, 34.70 crores as Disaster Grants, 188 crores for Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, 164 crores for Matsya Sampada Yojana, 636.88 crore in Health Mission, 220.49 crore as MGNREGA share, 141 crore for Poshan Abhiyan, 225.34 crore as social pension share, 74.34 crore as food assistance, 11.6 crore for mid-day meal scheme and 750 crore as UGC salary revision share.

Vizhinjam: 10000 acres will be acquired

The future hope of the state lies in the Vizhinjam project. 10000 acres will be acquired for ancillary systems. Central assistance of 5000 crores has been requested for Capital Expenditures (CapEx). Construction of 1.7 km road, 10.7 km rail tunnel, ring road, etc. will be completed at an accelerated pace.

Political exaggeration should be avoided

Finance Minister requested to avoid talking politics for unnecessary issues. "The rumour that I had reported a bill of one lakh rupees when I sought treatment at the medical college hospital is false. Propaganda morphing the image of Minister Sivankutty and making false allegations against Minister Riyas are common in social media. Some opposition leaders are behind all this. We should stand together for the development of the state."