Finance Minister Thomas Issac presented the Kerala Budget 2019-20 in the Legislative Assembly on Thursday. He began his speech by saying the State faced twin tragedies of floods and protests over Supreme Court verdict allowing women of all ages to visit Sabarimala. Mr. Issac said the events had a major impact, and added stress o Kerala's economy.
Here are the highlights of the Budget:
A study centre on Kerala's reformation will be set up in Thiruvananthapuram. An annual award in the name of Dakshayani Velayudhan, the lone Dalit woman in the Constituent Assembly, will be given for those working for women empowerment. ₹2 crore has been earmarked for this purpose.
Kudumbashree gets budget allocation of ₹1,000 crore. ₹1,420 crore has been earmarked for women empowerment initiatives.
The Budget accuses Union government of not giving the State "it's rightful due" for flood relief and also "blocking external help." A sum of ₹1,000 crore for long-term rebuilding the State keeping in mind the environmental concerns and infrastructure.
The Budget announces 25 projects for "New Kerala." This includes an industrial corridor between Kochi and Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu), rice parks in Thrissur and near Thiruvananthapuram, a coconut village project, and Bekal-Kovalam waterway.
₹700 crore has been set aside for startup ventures.
A second Kuttanad Package with ₹1000 crore has been announced. Community centres will be built in Kuttanad that can be used as flood shelters in times of natural calamity. A special package has been announced for the flood-hit Wayanad region.
Fishermen who formed "Kerala's own Army" during the floods will benefit from an extended Ockhi package of over ₹1,000 crore. The Budget also envisages plans to conserve Kerala's long coastline and building infrastructure to benefit the people living along the coast.
The Budget states that the Kerala-owned public sector undertakings (PSUs) have taken a giant leap under this government. Twenty State PSUs are making profit now, says Mr. Issac.
The Budget also proposes a 515-km long parallel railway line along the Bekal-Kovalam waterway. The project is expected to be completed within seven years. Muziris Heritage Project will be completed by 2020, he adds.
Kerala Bank to be the biggest scheduled bank in the cooperative sector, going to be the biggest venture in the coming year, Mr. Issac says.
A comprehensive health insurance scheme will be launched for all families in the State. Primary health centres will be augmented with more doctors and facilities. All medical colleges will have oncologists, and cardiologists will be appointed in all district hospitals. Over 4,000 posts will be created in the healthcare sector.
The RSBY (Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana)and Karunya project will be integrated and the State will directly give up to ₹5 lakh by way of insurance care. In all, around 42 lakh families will benefit.
Kerala Budget announces a slew of projects for infrastructure upgradation, academic quality improvement and modernisation of government schools. The Finance Minister says around two lakh students have opted out from private schools and have joined government schools.
About 13 per cent of Kerala's population is over 60 years of age, the Minister says. ₹325 crore has been allocated for the welfare of senior citizens.
In two or three wards of all panchayaths, ‘Pakal Veedu’ will be established. Kudumbasree will form 20,000 neighbourhood groups for senior citizens. A fourth of senior citizens receiving pension began getting it after this govt came to power, he says.
An amount of ₹60 crore has been earmarked through three different programmes such as ‘Arogya Kiranam’, ‘SID’ and ‘Cochlear Implant’ for related schemes.
‘Mazhavillu’, a scheme for transsexual persons will provide vocational training, self-employment assistance, habitations in all districts, assistance for surgery based on medical advice, and learning assistance among others. ₹5 crore is earmarked for this.
The total outlay for the Scheduled Caste Sub Plan is ₹1,977 crore. The total state outlay for Scheduled Caste Sub Plan is ₹1,649 crore. In addition to this, ₹260 crore will be available from Centrally Sponsored Schemes. The outlay for Scheduled Tribe Sub Plan is ₹663 crore. In addition to this, ₹50 crore will be available from Centrally Sponsored Schemes.
The top priority will be housing, followed by education.
For protection of mental health in Attappadi, ₹25 lakh has been earmarked for formulating a special programme in collaboration with the expert organisation ‘Banyan’.
The occupation of Viswakarmas has been accepted as traditional occupations. An amount of ₹10 crore is earmarked as aid for traditional labours.
An amount of ₹42 crore is earmarked for Kerala State Welfare Corporation for Forward Communities. Of this ₹17 crore is for scholarships. A new scheme, namely, Sammmunnathi Mangalya Sahaya Nidhi will be started.
A centre will be established in Calicut University for minority studies. Considering the increase in the number of women going for Haj in recent years, a special block will be constructed for women in Haj house.
Government aims to develop Sabarimala on the lines of Tirupati, while protecting the environment and ecosystem.
KIIFB is implementing projects worth ₹141.75 crore for providing modern facilities at Sabarimala base camps at Nilakkal, Pamba and important interim shelters. An amount of ₹28 crore is set apart for developing roads in Sabarimala.
The Finance Minister informs the House that the government did not appropriate a single paisa from the income of the Sabarimala Temple.
₹100 crore is earmarked for Travancore Devaswom Board; besides this, ₹36 crore is earmarked for Malabar and Cochin Devaswoms.
The first building in Institute of Advanced Virology having an area of 25000 Sq.ft. at Thonnakkal will be completed this year. The construction of second building having an area of 78000 Sq.ft. will commence soon.
An amount of ₹5.5 crore is set apart for special research promotion centers in College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram.
A cruise vessel with overnight stay facility worth ₹40 crore will be bought for Kerala Shipping and Inland Navigation Corporation. A separate company has been registered for developing a new greenfield outer port in Azheekkal.
Feasibility study will be undertaken to set up heliports at Sabarimala.
Waste treatment facility will be established in any one of the Industrial Estates in all districts. A facility for e-waste treatment will also be established in Kerala. The construction of waste manure pits in every house will be taken up as a campaign. Grama panchayats and Municipalities will be graded in the model of ‘Swachh Bharat Survekshan’.
2019 is the golden jubilee year of KSFE. New chits amounting to ₹650 crore and net profit of ₹200 crore are the aims in the golden jubilee year. 60 new branches will be started. The present turnover of KSFE is ₹35,000 crore.
A model Global Kerala Centre will be established at Mavelikkara in the five-acre land owned by NORKA.
Arrears of two instalments of DA will be disbursed in cash along with the salary of Government employees for the month of April.
From 1st June, 2019 onwards all vehicles entering into the State of Kerala, shall be subjected to real time e-Way bill verification using automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) system.
One per cent flood cess will be imposed on goods and services in the brackets above 5 per cent GST and for gold. Kerala Flood Cess will be levied only on the value of intra state supply made within the State.
Local bodies will be permitted to levy 10% entertainment tax on cinema tickets.
50% concession on tax for five years will be granted to newly registered e-Rickshaws. For other electric vehicles, 25% concession on tax for five years will be granted.
Electronic records and electronic agreements will also be brought under the ambit of Stamp Duty.
All charges and fees for services provided by various departments will be increased by 5%.
