Thiruvananthapuram: The state is facing a peculiar situation. On the one hand, the government splurged crores on Keraleeyam — the weeklong celebrations of the State's Formation Day that concluded on Tuesday — and the planned Cabinet's 'Kerala Tour' across 140 Assembly constituencies.
On the other hand, several departments do not have funds to disperse pensions and other benefits to the poor and provide essential items to the citizens. The situation has become such that two ministers vented their desperation at the Cabinet meeting, saying their departments were hard-pressed for funds, and could not further function without money.
Minister G R Anil sought funds for providing money to SupplyCo, while Minister V Sivankutty demanded money to provide midday meals to school students. The financial crisis was reflected even in the Raj Bhavan with the government failing to allot funds to refuel vehicles and purchase kitchen essentials, necessitating the intervention of the chief secretary to tide over the issue.
Sources in the Finance Ministry said the State has been going through the worst monetary crisis in its history. The department has been bogged down under pressure from various departments seeking funds.
Though the State government was to grant Rs 403 crore to provide subsidies to power consumers, it was not included in the Cabinet's agenda since the KSEB had not written to the government demanding the same.
Speaking at the Cabinet meeting, Minister Anil said the public distribution system would come to a halt if at least a part of the Rs 1,524 crore due to SupplyCo was not paid immediately. The minister raised the issue based on a CPI's political decision.
Minister Sivankutty, who seconded Anil, urged the government to clear the dues of the midday meal scheme. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan justified Anil's argument and asked the finance minister to provide a part of the due amount.
Kudumbashree women protest at Secretariat as dues mount
The Kudumbashree Janakeeya Hotel Action Council held a protest in front of the State Secretariat, demanding the government clear the dues of Rs 6 crore spent on providing meals to the public at subsidised rates.
The protesters were the investors and employees of 144 Kudumbashree hotels in Malappuram. They decided to protest after the money due to them ran into crores, and the government's failure to clear them posed a threat to their business.
July's welfare pension likely next week
The state government has decided to distribute one month's welfare pension. The government has to clear a backlog of four months' pension till October 4. However, it decided to disburse the pension of Rs 1,600 each for only the month of July due to the financial crisis.
Normally, the government used to clear the backlog of three to four months in a single go, but the current crisis has prohibited it from doing so.
Though a press release by Finance Minister KN Balagopal said the pension for July would be cleared, the statement was silent on the timeframe by which it would be disbursed. However, indications are that it is likely to be distributed next week.
The decision to disburse the pension for at least one month was made in light of the upcoming Nava Kerala Sadas programme slated to begin on November 18. The chief minister and his Cabinet of ministers would attend the programme.
Minister Balagopal said in the statement that all those who have undergone the mustering process would be provided with their pension. Others would be provided once they completed the process.
The minister stated that the government had disbursed Rs 57,604 crore as welfare pensions over the past 7.5 years. As many as 64 lakh people have been included on the pension list. Of them, seven lakh were yet to undergo the mustering process. They would not be provided with a pension.
High Court questions celebrations in the time of crisis
The High Court of Kerala said it did not expect the government to indulge in celebrations even as the citizens are reeling under a crisis. Those in power should keep this in mind in a State like Kerala. Even if a single person was in crisis, the government should accord priority to him, Justice Devan Ramachandran said.
The court observed while hearing a contempt of court petition regarding the delay in disbursing the salaries of KSRTC employees. During the hearing, the Chief Secretary pointed out the financial crisis. Besides Chief Secretary Dr V Venu, Transport Secretary Biju Prabhakar also joined the court proceedings online.
