The city’s stature as the biggest revenue generator for the State is not reflected in Finance Minister K. M. Mani’s 11 Budget, which has only a single big project for Kochi. The city’s lone hope in the 2013-14 Budget is the Rs. 1,000-crore Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA)-aided 200 mld water supply project to meet drinking water needs.
The Budget has little allotment for the ambitious Kochi Metro Rail project and no specific plans for widening or improving roads and buildings or constructing over-bridges and flyovers in Kerala’s business capital.
V.D. Satheesan, MLA, said that the Budget lacked a regional balance and that the only major proposal for Kerala’s city of the future was the drinking water project.
K.N. Marzook, chairman of the Kerala Chamber of Commerce and Industry, criticised the Budget for its large dose of doles.
There is a lot of charity but no measure to encourage trade, to widen tax net and to improve infrastructure in Kochi, which contributed nearly Rs. 11,000 crore to the State exchequer during the current financial year, said Mr. Marzook. The Budget has failed to take note of the pressing needs of the city and the city administrators hope that the Finance Minister will be more generous with the city even though no significant allocation has been made for Kochi.
The Budget is silent on rail overbridge at Atlantis and the development of Thammanam-Pullepady road, two of the most-awaited projects in the city.
There is also great disappointment over lack of any proposal or allocation for waste treatment in Kochi.
Land acquisition for these two infrastructure projects would require at least Rs. 150 crore. However, the Budget is silent on these, said Mayor Tony Chammany. Silence of the Budget on the feeder projects for the metro rail project is another aspect that worries him.
Deputy Mayor B. Bhadra, who is preparing to present her second Budget for the Kochi Corporation, was apprehensive about her Budget proposals getting shelved for want of State support.
K.J. Jacob, leader of the CPI(M) in the council, said that many of the city’s dream projects would have to be dropped as the State has failed to extend Budgetary support.
Keywords: Kerala Budget 2013, K.M. Mani
that is because militant trade unionism will not let anything work in
alleppey.
Thank you "The Hindu" for taking up this crucial issue of neglect of Kochi. This article will surely add to public awareness.
Businesses - including trade and industry - of Kochi pays more than 55% of state's tax revenue. Now small time trade is there in all parts of Kerala. If Kochi were just one such "trading post" then the revenue would have been same from all parts of the state. So it is clearly not just a "trading post". The trading volumes are clearly much large in Kochi. An example, the recently open mall at Edapally gives more than Rs.8 crore in taxes to Kalamassery municipality alone. Commercial tax revenue is highest from Kochi. Further, there are profitable industries like Refineries, Shipyard etc with high turn over. Of course, its geographic position have been advantageous to Kochi. But that is the whole point. Does the govt take advantage of this geographical position to harness Kochi's full potential or treat it merely as a source of revenue for the moment.
Where does the 110000 crore khochchi gave to the state exchequer come from? Cash crops from all over the state passed through this port, inbound traffic for the entire state got imported through this port? it imports and refines oil that we all dread to burn but have to. Is kochi anything other than a central idea? Any original ideas such as being the 'Apple' of the eye or a Microsoft?? Just an overgrown trading post.kochi rose out of the ashes of alleppy, why cant it just stop thinking that the rest of the state has to always pay its obeisance??
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