The Malabar Development Society (MDS) has complained that Finance Minister K.M. Mani has completely neglected the Malabar region in the Budget presented on Friday.
In an analysis meeting, the MDS flayed the Minister for not allotting funds for tourism development in Wayanad, for not starting a new industry in the land of Mavoor Gwalior Rayons, and lack of funds for rail development in the region in coordination with Railways.
The meeting welcomed the allocation for land acquisition for the development of the Calicut International Airport as well as the Light Metro project.
The Kerala Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) Northern Region complained that the State Budget was not as favourable as expected for the industries sector. KCCI regional president Ashik Parol said in a press release that the long-time plea for a sales tax ombudsman as a solution to various problems in the tax sector was not even considered.
He demanded that the promises for the development of basic infrastructure and start-up enterprises should be fulfilled.
Terming the behaviour of the MLAs in the Legislative Assembly during the budget presentation ‘shameless,’ the Malabar Chamber of Commerce (MCC) welcomed some parts of the budget such as the decision to waive off agricultural loans, the attempts to save paddy and rubber cultivators as well as allotments to the airports and Indian Institute of Technology.
At the same time, it termed the increase in tax for food products unfortunate. It also flayed the increase in stamp duty for flats.
A combined budget analysis of the Tax Payers Association, the All Kerala Ayurveda Producers-Distributors Association, the All Kerala Consumer Goods Distributors Association, and the District Merchants Association claimed that the budget was disappointing, especially as it would lead to an increase in the prices of household commodities such as sugar and coconut oil.
The forum expressed disappointment over the neglect of the demand to synchronise the taxes with other States in order to check corruption and to secure necessary commodities at a lower price.
