The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) Opposition on Friday released an ‘alternative White Paper’ on Kerala's ‘stark’ financial situation.
The damning report portrayed a crumbling economy brought to its knees by poor governance, profligacy and corruption.
Congress legislator V.D. Satheeshan, the convener of the subcommittee which authored the survey, said the Government extravagance had exacerbated a steep shortfall in tax collection.
The Government splurged on helicopters, ministerial junkets, bulletproof cars, new cabinet posts, advisers and unnecessary embellishment of the Assembly complex when the State faced a treasury shut down.
He marked Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac out for "failing" to collect pending tax dues estimated at ₹30,000 crore. The Government had collected ₹150 crore barely. It conveniently blamed the dismal financial situation on the Centre for its delay in recompensing Kerala its ₹1,600 crore GST component.
Anarchy reigned in the taxes department. Tax collection had plummeted to 10% of the projected figure. Revenue recovery processes had halted. Over 46,000 files relating to tax assessment and revenue recovery were pending disposal. Tax collectors had ruined the amnesty scheme for defaulters by issuing faulty notices that spawned avoidable litigations.
Public debt had doubled to ₹2,64,000 crore under the LDF rule. The per capita debt shot up from ₹46,000 in 2016 to ₹72,000 in 2019. The Government has misspent the borrowed money. Capital expenditure spending had plummeted. Asset creation had suffered. The State lacked a debt management system.
The Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) was the huge white elephant in the room. It promised to raise ₹50,000 crore from the open market for development but had managed only ₹533 crore so far.
The KIIFB has cost the Government over ₹25 crore so far in salaries and overheads. The Assembly has no oversight over the KIIFB, and Dr. Isaac has suspiciously stonewalled efforts of the CAG to audit its finances.
Local bodies were starved of funds. Life Mission housing scheme for the poor has ground to a halt. Mr. Satheeshan said an ‘invisible power’ dictated Dr. Isaac. The Finance Minister was just a shadow of his former self. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had robbed Dr. Isaac of his spirit to exercise fiscal control and hollowed the economist out intellectually. The Finance Minister merely rubbed stamped the Chief Minister’s demands.
The White Paper recommended restructuring of the tax collection systems to suit the GST regime. It also proposed a slew of measures to steady the State's tottering finances, including an expedited revenue recovery process.
