Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Budget presented by Finance Minister K N Balagopal proposed a new slab for land tax and a one-time increase of land fair price by 10 per cent through which the state aims to garner additional revenue of Rs 200 crore.

The green tax on second-hand vehicles will be increased by 50% while the tax for motorcycles that cost up to Rs 2 lakh will go up by 1%.

Delivering the budget speech, the minister announced that the state will take measures to expedite rolling out the 5G network. Network towers will be integrated with K-FON for this purpose. Rs 1,000 crore has been earmarked in the budget for building four science parks in the state.

Aiming to tap the potential of the information technology sector in the post-COVID era, Balagopal proposed to set up two new IT parks, four IT corridors and 20 satellite IT hubs in Kerala.

The new IT parks would be set up in Kannur and Kollam districts. Proximity to the Kannur International Airport is expected to accelerate the growth of the sector in the northern district, he said.

The proposed IT Corridors would be set up parallel to the National Highway-66, which is being expanded to four lanes, and would begin from the existing IT parks including Technopark, the pioneer IT hub in the state capital, the minister explained.

Rs 100 crore was set aside through Kerala Infrastructure Investment Board (KIIFB) for the expansion of the IT parks and Rs 1,000 crore earmarked for land acquisition in the sector, Balagopal added.

In the first complete budget of the second Pinarayi Vijayan government, the minister also set aside Rs 2,000 crore to cushion the impact of inflationary pressures in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and the probable hike in the price of petroleum products.

Besides, Rs 100 crore has been allocated for setting up a medical tech innovation hub in the state capital, Rs 200 crore earmarked for the development of universities, and Rs 300 crore has been budgeted for skill parks.

SIlverLine

Balagopal expressed hope that the Centre would give its nod for implementing the southern state's proposal for building a semi-high speed railway line and allocated Rs 2,000 crore for acquiring land.

The Finance Minister said the initial amount of Rs 2,000 crore for acquiring land for the proposed semi-high speed K-Rail project, called the SilverLine project, will be made available from the KIIFB.

The minister said the SilverLine project, which is expected to reduce travel time from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod to around four hours, is a joint venture set-up by the Government of Kerala and Ministry of Railways.

Noting that the 'eco-friendly' project is essential for giving a boost to the state's development, Balagopal expressed hope that the Centre would give its sanction to Kerala government's over Rs 60,000 crore K-Rail project.

Earlier, the state government had requested the Centre to provide budgetary allocation for the semi-high-speed railway project. However, it was not mentioned in the Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in February.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had slammed the Centre for not including in the Union Budget the southern state's proposal for building the 540 km semi-high speed railway line.

The SilverLine project is being opposed by the opposition Congress-led UDF, which has been alleging that it was "unscientific and impractical" and will put a huge financial burden on the state.

Starting from the state capital, SilverLine trains will have stoppages at Kollam, Chengannur, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Tirur, Kozhikode and Kannur before reaching Kasaragod.

Minor alcoholic beverages

The government would encourage small-scale manufacturing units in the state to make wine and other minor alcoholic beverages. “Small scale units will be encouraged to make wine and minor beverages from fruits and crops other than food grains,” Finance Minister K N Balagopal said.

The move comes amid reports several liquor companies had opened production units in areas bordering Kerala in neighbouring states and the state was losing out on revenue due to this.