The Hindu : Kerala News : Budget has neglected key sectors: MLAs

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Wednesday, Feb 09, 2005

Kerala

Kerala

Budget has neglected key sectors: MLAs

By Our Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, FEB. 8. The Kerala Congress (Joseph) MLA, K.C. Joseph, today alleged that the budget presented in the State Assembly on Friday had totally neglected the interests of farmers and underprivileged sections of society.

Participating in the discussion on the budget, he said agriculture and allied sectors had been allotted only 6.5 per cent of the total Plan outlay for the year. These sectors, on which a majority of the people of the State depend, had received 9.3 per cent of the Plan outlay during the last year of the LDF's tenure in the Government, he said.

He said the Budget had predicted a growth rate of 6.5 per cent for the State's economy during 2005-06. This growth would come mainly from the service sector.

In fact, the growth rate in the agriculture sector had been negative during three of the last four years since the UDF came to power.

The RSP(B) MLA, Shibu Baby John, said the State's progress in the coming years would be possible only through heavy investments in the education sector. The imbalances created by the diminishing trend in public investment in this sector were already becoming visible.

The Congress MLA T.H. Mustafa, the Indian Union Muslim League MLA C. Mammootty and the JSS MLA K.K. Shaju described the budget as "realistic," but doubted whether the Finance Minister, Vakkom Purushothaman, had been able to find enough resources for meeting the needs of sectors such as agriculture and traditional industries.

Stamp duty

The Kerala Congress(M) MLA Joseph Puthusserry asked the Finance Minister to reconsider the proposal to increase the stamp duty on property transactions from four per cent to 8.5 per cent and the surcharge from two per cent to five per cent.

He said the Government had weighed all aspects of the issue when it decided in December 2003 to keep the stamp duty and surcharge low.

If revenue had fallen on account of this decision, it was because the Government had not followed it up with the exercise of fixing fair value for properties, with the result that the practice of undervaluation and duty evasion was allowed to continue.

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