On Friday, Kerala’s Finance Minister K N Balagopal shared the budget for the year 2025-26 in the Assembly. He proudly announced that Kerala has handled a serious financial crisis without cutting any of its welfare or development projects. One major focus of the budget is a Rs 750 crore plan to help those affected by landslides in Wayanad, a village hit hard by a disaster that took over 200 lives and destroyed many homes and jobs. The estimated damage was around Rs 1,202 crore. The cost to rebuild is expected to be about Rs 2,221 crore, but Balagopal mentioned that the federal government hasn’t provided any help for this disaster yet.
The Kerala government remains hopeful for support from the Centre just like other states received. Balagopal also emphasized the Left government’s dedication to keeping its promises and assured that the rehabilitation work will be done on time.
Despite the financial struggles, Balagopal reported that the government has been able to continue its social programs. He noted that around Rs 3,820 crore has been spent on scholarships for minority students and those from Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes. Because the Centre stopped scholarships for minority students in grades 1 to 8, Kerala has set aside Rs 200 crore to help them through a project called ‘Marg Deepam’.
The budget includes funds for various projects, such as:
– Rs 10 crore for research on making bio-ethanol.
– Rs 100 crore to upgrade old government vehicles.
– Rs 50 crore for a special plan to tackle wild animal attacks.
Balagopal mentioned that the expanded National Highway is expected to open by late 2025. He also introduced the K-Homes project, which aims to use empty houses to improve tourism by offering affordable places to stay. The pilot project will start near popular tourist spots like Fort Kochi, Kumarakom, Kovalam, and Munnar.
The work on the Thiruvananthapuram metro project will begin this year, and the final payment of Rs 600 crore for pension arrears will be made this month. Two installments of salary revisions will also be paid within this financial year.
Balagopal said that the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) will reserve Rs 500 crore for major projects and plans to create a way for KIIFB to earn revenue, as it is currently dealing with a debt of over Rs 87,000 crore.
Before he presented the budget, the Leader of the Opposition, V D Satheesan, pointed out that there was no economic report shared before the budget discussion. The speaker, A N Shamseer, acknowledged the importance of such a report and promised that it would be included in future budget presentations. Discussions about the budget will happen between February 10 and 12, while voting on additional requests will take place on February 13
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