New Delhi: Amidst going through a financial crisis and center allegedly reducing borrowing limits, Kerala Finance Minister K. N. Balagopal met Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and submitted a memorandum outlining Kerala’s requirements, including the withdrawal of retrospective cuts in the state’s borrowing ceiling.
One of the key demands is allowing additional borrowing of Rs 6,000 crore to compensate for the state government’s spending on land acquisition for national highways. According to the memorandum, Kerala is covering 25% of the land acquisition costs. The approved amount for this is Rs 6,769 crore, of which the state has already spent Rs 5,580 crore.
“The state stands to lose about Rs 4,711 crore in this financial year and the next due to the Centre’s decision to adjust borrowings by the KIIFB (Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board) and the KSSPL (Kerala Social Security Pension Ltd) within the borrowing limit. The implementation of this decision with retrospective effect has dealt us a double blow in terms of resource availability and the ability to borrow from the open market,” the memorandum submitted by KN Balagopal to the union finance minister stated.
Kerala has also urged the Union government to delink the compliance with CSS-related branding guidelines from the mandatory conditions required to avail benefits of the CAPEX scheme for 2024-25.
Center gives nod for K-Rail project
The Kerala government’s ambitious K-Rail project received a fresh lease of life with Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw assuring that the project can be taken forward once the state addresses the technical and environmental issues expeditiously.
“The Kerala chief minister and myself recently met in New Delhi and we discussed it (the K-Rail project). I requested the chief minister that whatever technical and environmental issues are there in the design of K-Rail. Address them expeditiously so that this project can also be taken forward”, said union railway minister
