Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan reaches out MPs to exert pressure on Centre to implement key infrastructure projects

Kerala seeks interest-free loan from Centre for infrastructure development, MPs urged to secure funding for vital projects.

The State government on Thursday stressed the need to secure ₹1,546.92 crore interest-free loan sought by Kerala from the Centre for infrastructure development. In a bid to help States develop their infrastructure, the Centre has decided to provide ₹1.5 lakh crore worth of interest-free loans on a long-term basis.

Speaking at a meeting of the MPs, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the Centre has also asked Kerala to repay ₹817.80 crore viability gap funding (VGF) approved for the Vizhinjam International Seaport project. The State has been asked to repay this amount through revenue sharing, and repaying the amount in Net Present Value (NPV) terms through the revenue sharing model will cause an additional financial strain of ₹10,000-12,000 crore on Kerala.

This repayment clause is not applicable or imposed on the recent VGF approved for Tuticorin Port’s Outer Harbor project. So the MPs should exert pressure on the Centre to get the VGF as a non-repayable grant for aiding the vital infrastructure project in Kerala, the Chief Minister said.

Collective effort is required for materialising the long-pending demands of Kerala like an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), for which 200 acres of land have been acquired at Kinalur in Kozhikode, where all facilities like drinking water, electricity, and transport have been arranged; point of call status for Kannur International Airport; Angamali-Sabari rail project; Nilambur-Nanjangud, Thalassery- Wayanad-Mysuru, and Kaniyoor-Kanhangad railway lines.

Further, the MPs should raise their voice for the ₹620 crore Global City project in Kochi, for which the Centre and the State will have to share the allocation in the ratio of 60:40. The proposal submitted by the State regarding notification of eco-sensitive areas needs to be approved. Only 66 coastal panchayats in Kerala have been included in the CRZ-2 category as per the Coastal Regulation Zone Notification, 2019. Pressure needs to be put on the Centre to achieve the State’s demand that its 109 coastal panchayats should be included in the CRZ-2 category, said the Chief Minister.