What can a State Finance Minister do in his Budget in the middle of a crisis brought about by insufficient income and rising expensesIJ Tighten the belt but respect welfare and development requirementsIJ That is exactly what Kerala’s economist Finance Minister TM Thomas Isaac has tried to do in the 2018-19 Budget he presented in the State Assembly on Friday though many of his critics preferred to call it a product of imagination that lacked touch of reality.
In the second Budget of the CPI(M)-led lDF Government headed by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, the Marxist Finance Minister proposed fiscal consolidation, virtual freeze on creation of new posts and restriction on purchase of vehicles by Government departments but made a generous offer of a Rs 2,000 crore package for the overall development of coastal areas and fishermen’s welfare in the context of the devastation caused by Cyclone Ockhi. In a largely welcomed move, Isaac announced Rs 1,267 crore for various schemes for welfare and safety of women, eradication of gender discrimination, etc. “The women’s component of Budget allocation thus goes up to 14.6 percent from 11.5 percent,” he said announcing various pro-women programmes including women’s hostels and short-stay homes in all the 14 districts.
Reading out the Budget document, which went on 160 minutes, Isaac complained that Kerala had expected the implementation of GST to raise its tax revenues by 20 percent to 25 percent but it did not happen. Moreover, the demonetization exercise impacted Kerala’s economy like Cyclone Ockhi, he claimed. Though the Centre had been asking the States to keep economic discipline, it was not abiding by that discipline, he alleged. Elaborating on the Rs 2,000-crore comprehensive package for the development of the coastal region and welfare of the fishermen, the Minister said fishing boats and coastal villages would be linked through a satellite-based navigation and weather forecasting system which the Disaster Management Authority had already given shape to. “This is a Rs 100 crore scheme which will be implemented in this financial year itself,” he said.
In the Budget that projected a revenue income of Rs 88,266 crore and revenue expenditure of Rs 1,01,346 crore, Isaac earmarked Rs 970 crore for school education and Rs 954 crore for food subsidy. He also announced Rs 2,500 crore for Project life, a comprehensive housing scheme for the homeless people of the State.
Stating that Rs 1,685 crore was being earmarked for public health, the Finance Minister said the State would soon launch an e-network of ambulances on the lines of the App-based global taxi operator, Uber. “By this scheme, if an emergency is conveyed via mobile phone, an ambulance available at the nearest location will reach the spot immediately,” he said.
Though Isaac took maximum care to look like a pro-welfare Finance Minister, he proposed to put controls on disbursal of welfare pensions. “A measure to ensure that undeserving people are not availing welfare pensions is being adopted. Those who live in 1,200-square feet houses and are living with people paying income tax would not qualify for welfare pensions,” he said.
As fiscal consolidation has become inevitable due to rising expenses and insufficient income, Isaac proposed to impose restrictions on Government spending.