'Kerala faced economic hardships due to Centre's unfavourable policies'

Kerala experienced economic hardships due to the unfavourable policy measures taken by the central government, State Finance Minister K N Balagopal said on Friday.

Balagopal, who met the media here on the last day of the 2022-23 financial year, said there was a shortage of Rs 40,000 crore in this financial year due to the policies of the Centre.

He also said that despite the adverse situations, Kerala managed to perform well in terms of income and expenditure.

"Everything including salary, pension and loan repayment were paid correctly. The project cost of local bodies is over 96 per cent. Many panchayats have spent 100 per cent of the fund allotted, and the treasuries functioned without any hitch," Balagopal said.

He said judicious financial management helped the state to perform well despite constraints.

"Due to the unfavourable policy measure of the Union government, Kerala experienced huge economic hardships. There was a shortfall of Rs 40,000 crore this financial year due to Centre's policies," he said.

Balagopal said the opposition parties should also raise their voice for Kerala.

"We took a stern stand in (Congress leader) Rahul Gandhi's issue in Parliament. Our stand is to protect the democracy and raise our voice when it's in danger. Unfortunately, Kerala's opposition is not raising their voice in favour of the state," Balagopal said.

When asked about UDF observing black day on April 1 to protest against the fuel cess coming in force, he said it is a political protest.

"It's a political move by the opposition. I hope they also raise the issue of high price of LPG in the country. They consider the Left government as their main enemy. The people are watching," Balagopal said.

The finance minister said there was an increase of Rs 12,000 crore in state's own tax revenue.

He said there was an increase of around Rs 23,000 crore in the the tax collected by it on its own in the last two years.