THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state Cabinet has approved the state’s annual plan of 86.5 billion rupees for the financial year 2009-10, 12.33 percent up from the current plan of 77 billion rupees.
“An amount of 20.85 billion rupees was earmarked for local self-governments, which is eleven percent higher than the previous year’s allocation of 17.77 billion rupees” Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan said. “Agriculture, animal husbandry and traditional industries are the main focus in the plan outlay that has also given more importance to education, health care and other welfare programs”.
The Cabinet also decided to set up a 200 million rupee-Price Stabilization Fund in view of the economic slowdown.
“A subcommittee had been constituted to study the impact of the recession on the state’s economy,” Achuthanandan told reporters after the weekly Cabinet meeting. The subcommittee comprises ministers of finance, industries, agriculture, food and water resources.
A meeting of the Kerala Planning Board earlier finalized the draft annual plan that the Cabinet accepted without any changes. 600 million rupees is earmarked for a comprehensive health insurance scheme. “We have made appropriate provisions for the range of large projects which the state has launched and its thrust will be toward ameliorating the impact of the present economic crisis on the common man,” Achuthanandan, who chaired the board meeting, said. “The economic crisis has affected the size of the plan. It should have been higher this time. The global economic crisis has impacted the state and it will definitely leave its mark on us”.
Finance Minister Dr. Thomas Isaac said that the government was not averse to increasing the subsidies. In fact, it was the best way to combat the crisis.
A substantial increase in the outlays had been provided to help withstand the crisis due to the economic meltdown in the traditional industries like coir, handlooms and cashew.
“The support would range from technological upgrading to price support, exploration and creation of new markets to offset the shrinking export market,” he said.
As many as 12 percent of the outlay will be kept aside for the welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes while a substantial amount will be spent to provide price support to marginal farmers who have been badly affected by the falling prices of cash crops like coffee and spices.
“The federal government should immediately come to the rescue of the rubber farmers by hiking the replanting subsidy from 19,500 rupees per hectare to 40,000 rupees,” Isaac said. “Some 30 percent of the rubber trees in the state have already finished their lifespan”. The finance minister pointed out that farmers are not interested in spending money for replanting and hence the federal government should extend the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme to these rubber farmers who go in for replanting. Local bodies would launch a massive housing program called “EMS Housing Scheme” for the poor during the year that envisages an investment of 20 billion rupees with the support of banks. Houses built under the ‘100,000 Housing Scheme’ in the early 1970s too will be renovated. The planners expect the housing activities to generate a lot of employment and economic activity.
The government will also launch a comprehensive health care insurance scheme for the poor during the year.
