Kerala repeats request for special package for Wayanad rehabilitation
The Hindu
Kerala seeks special package for Wayanad landslides recovery, urges Centre to address financial challenges faced by the state.
Kerala has again urged the Centre to take a positive decision on its request for a special package for the landslides-related rehabilitation process in Wayanad.
Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal made the request to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during a meeting in New Delhi on Monday.
Mr. Balagopal reiterated the State’s long-standing demands, including withdrawal of retrospective cuts in its borrowing ceiling, permission for additional borrowing of ₹6,000 crore against the cost borne by Kerala for national highway land acquisition, and delinking the compliance of Centrally sponsored scheme (CSS)-related branding for availing itself of the benefits of the CAPEX 2024-25 scheme.
Referring to the financial hardship caused by the cuts in the borrowing limit, Mr. Balagopal observed that the unprecedented needs arising from the July 30 Wayanad landslides disaster had worsened the situation. In this scenario, the State hoped for a quick decision regarding a special package for the disaster-related rehabilitation in Wayanad, he said.
With the Centre treating the borrowings made by the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) and the Kerala Social Security Pension Ltd. (KSSPL) as direct State debt and imposing retrospective cuts, Kerala stood to lose ₹4,711 crore each this fiscal and the next, according to Mr. Balagopal. Kerala had urged Ms. Sitharaman to review this decision and allow the State to borrow an equal amount this year and the next.
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