Infrastructure gets prominence in Kerala Budget

Finance Minister K M Mani also palced emphasis on 'Digital Kerala', housing, entrepreneurship

The Kerala government will prepare an Infrastructure Master Plan 2030 to fill the infrastructure gap in the state. The Budget for 2015-16 presented on Friday by Finance Minister KM Mani set aside Rs 2,000 crore for major infrastructure projects in the state.

The Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Act would be amended to make it a dynamic vehicle for supporting infrastructure growth, Mani announced.

The Budget expects these measures will help the state to channel Rs 25,000 crore of investment in infrastructure in the next three years.

Funds raised from the market will be used for the suburban railway corridor, light metros in Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode, upgradation of the inland waterway system, and airport, power, port, water supply and highway projects.

The budget earmarked Rs 600 crore for the Vizhinjam International Seaport project and Rs 940 crore for the Kochi Metro. It proposed a district flagship infrastructure project for accelerating infrastructure development in every district. One major infrastructure project in every district will be funded under this initiative.

The budget focused on seven thrust areas: agriculture, infrastructure, health, Digital Kerala, housing, entrepreneurship and welfare. It proposed a Rubber Price Stabilisation Fund of Rs 300 crore to support purchase of 20,000 tonnes at the market support price of Rs 150 per kg. It also earmarked Rs 300 crore for paddy procurement.

Mani announced an initiative under which the entire interest payable by farmers would be met by the government if the farmer repaid the principal amount on time.

The plantation tax will not be levied on individual owners but will continue to be levied on plantations held by companies, societies and trusts. This will lead to a potential revenue loss of Rs 2 crore.

A Sampoorna Arogya Keralam Trust will be set up under the chairmanship of the chief minister with ministers as trustees. The scheme will be funded by channelling resources under various schemes. The estimated requirement of the fund is Rs 500 crore.

The budget also proposed a one-time assistance of Rs 1 crore for establishing the smart classroom grid of the local self-government department.

Mani made an allocation of Rs 374.57 crore this year for the information technology sector.  The budget contains a provision of Rs 403.18 crore for various development schemes in agriculture.

Mani said the budget estimates for  2014-2015 had anticipated total receipts of Rs 9,365.36 crore as Kerala’s share of central taxes, but the Union government had reduced it to Rs 7,926.29 crore on account of poor revenue mobilisation by the Centre. This has exerted fiscal pressure on the state to the tune of Rs 1,450 crore.

In addition, the crisis in the rubber industry  has virtually crippled the plantation-based economy of the state and destabilised tax collection.

The budget proposed to levy a 1 per cent tax on rice, rice products and wheat and a 5 per cent tax on maida, atta, suji and rava. Additional revenue of Rs 110 crore is expected from these measures. Goods sold through the public distribution scheme will continue to be tax free.

An additional tax of Re 1 per litre will be imposed on petrol and diesel. The amount received  will be used for constructing buildings for the weaker sections of society. Extra revenue of Rs 375 crore is expected under this head.

Retaining the exemption on sugar sold through the public distribution system, the budget imposed a tax of 2 per cent on the commodity. The additional revenue expected is Rs 100 crore. Coconut oil, which was hitherto exempted from tax, will be taxed at a minimal rate of 1 per cent. The additional revenue expected is Rs 50 crore.

The one-time tax on  motorcycles priced up to Rs 1 lakh will be raised from 6 to 8 per cent, those priced Rs 1-2 lakh  from 8 to 10 per cent, and those priced more than Rs 2 lakh to 20 per cent. As a result of this increase, the government expects an additional income of Rs 100 crore.

The budget also rationalised the stamp duty and registration fee.

The tax on cigarettes was raised to 30 per cent with a view to discourage the use of tobacco. As a further step, beedi will be taxed at 14.5 per cent. An additional amount of Rs 15 crore is expected from this measure.

Brooms, brushes and mops made of plastic used for cleaning floors and toilets will be taxed at 5 per cent. As a measure to tackle the tax drain in sale of live chicken, a 1 per cent tax will be imposed on poultry feed.

The budget estimates total revenue receipts of Rs 77,427.20 crore and expenditure of Rs 85,259.12 crore, leaving a revenue deficit of Rs 7,831.92 crore.  It estimates additional resource mobilisation of Rs 1,220 crore and additional expense of Rs 1,931.41 crore, leaving a cumulative deficit of Rs 848.58 crore.

ALSO READ: Kerala Assembly fracas: Oppn breaks Speaker's chair, damages equipment