The reality of unkept promises

‘This is as though we were invited for dinner and then denied food’

What seems to have struck city residents about the Union Budget for this year is the projects gone missing. The call for setting up the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) had grown into a campaign in Thiruvananthapuram, but the budget has provision for AIIMS only in West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Vidarbha, and Purvanchal.

General Secretary of the Federation of Residents’ Associations Thiruvananthapuram (FRAT), Paraniyam Devakumar, had participated in a dharna held only a few days ago in front of the Secretariat demanding AIIMS in the State capital. Land, he said, was identified at Nettukaltheri. “We must remember that it was the Centre that put forward this idea first and asked to identify 250 acres. This is as though we were invited for dinner and then denied food,” he said.

Vizhinjam port

Mr. Devakumar said that another proposal that is conspicuous by its absence was the Vizhinjam International Seaport. This was another sign of neglect towards the State, he said, adding that the National Highways in the State might remain undeveloped since no specific allocation has been made.

More neglect?

Chandran, a salesperson at a medical store near Palayam, said that even though such a large sum had been set aside for improving the nation’s road network, Kerala was bound to be the sidelined. “There are no elected representatives from here so who is going to follow up and pressure officials in the centre. Maybe we should wait, maybe ‘acche din’ may take a couple of years,” he said, adding that it seemed there were too many ‘committees’ and too few concrete proposals.

Real estate

From a real estate perspective, the budget seems more promising. Chairperson of the Builders Association of India—Kerala P. Harikumar pointed out how the Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) mooted in the budget would help ease liquidity for investors.

Proposals including that of setting up Smart Cities, low cost and urban housing programmes underline infrastructure development. “Linked to that is the housing loans exemption being increased to Rs. 2 lakh which will improve the purchasing capacity of people,” he said.