No AIIMS, no railway projects; Kerala completely ignored in Union budget, says Finance Minister KN Balagopal

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala Finance Minister KN Balagopal said that the state was completely ignored in the Union budget. The allocations of MGNREGA scheme were cut down. No railway schemes have been announced and request for AIIMS was ignored. The amount to ensure food security was Rs 2.14 lakh in the last budget but it was reduced to Rs 1.57 lakh in this budget. The amount paid as a reward for procuring grain from farmers has also come down. The finance minister also said that the announcements were not beneficial for people at the grassroots level.

“It has been decided that the central schemes which are input-basis at present to be made result-basis. It sounds good when you heart this for the first time. But the thing is, who is assessing this result? There lies the danger.”, Balagopal said. The state is being ignored in disbursing the central government funds. They say that the reason for reducing the money is that the state has developed in many fields. States with less population than Kerala get more funds than us. By saying that funds will be given based on the merits of the projects, it should be considered that new regulation is being introduced. The Centre is encroaching the cooperative sector including at the panchayat level. The Center is targeting the cooperative sector.”, he said. The finance minister said that the results announcements in the budget will have far-reaching effects.