Infra work worth Rs 50,000 cr to begin this fiscal: Kerala FM

The CPI (M)-led LDF government in Kerala has lined up Rs 50,000 crore worth infrastructure work in the current fiscal to revive the economy, badly hit by demonetisation and implementation of GST, state Finance Minister T M Thomas Isaac said today.
Of this amount, administrative sanction had already been accorded to works worth Rs 20,000 crore and approval for the remaining would also be given soon, he said.
Stating that Kerala as well as the nation was in the grip of a fiscal crisis after the note ban and implementation of GST, Isaac claimed this state government initiative was one of the biggest packages ever announced in the country.

He said the fiscal problem faced by the state would not affect the proposed investments.
Isaac was replying to a calling attention in the assembly on the need to solve the fiscal crisis faced by many sectors in Kerala due to demonetisation and GST implementation.
Rejecting the opposition UDF's charge that the state government has not taken any steps to rejuvenate the economy, he announced that Rs 50,000 crore worth infrastructure work had been lined up for this fiscal.

"Actual work for these projects will start this year itself", he said, adding this would definitely give a fillip to the state's financial status.

Isaac said the setback the state had due to GST was expected to be over in the coming days.
Demonetisation had badly affected the cooperative sector in the state, he said and alleged that the Centre attempted to 'destroy' the sector under the cover of the note ban.
As the LDF was committed to safeguarding this sector, the process of setting up the Kerala Bank was on, he said.
The government plans to set up the bank by merging district cooperative banks with state cooperative banks.
The three-tie society would become a two-tier system with the formation of Kerala Bank, he said.