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Thursday, Mar 13, 2008
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Focus on capital investment: Isaac

Special Correspondent

Onus on PSUs to clean up balance sheets

Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Finance Minster T.M. Thomas Isaac on Wednesday announced his resolve to restrict revenue expenditure of the State to 8 to 9 per cent in the coming years and concentrate more on capital investments, particularly in high profile mega projects.

Replying to the three-day general debate on the budget for 2008-09 in the Assembly, Dr. Isaac said funds would be made available for land acquisition of mega projects even though he had earmarked only Rs. 20 crore in his budget. “The budget has a vision. And it will change the gear of Kerala’s development,” he said. If the State hoped to become zero deficit by 2010 as projected, it would require capital investment of the order of Rs.6,000 crore, representing a 60 per cent increase in the current levels.

He said MLAs would provide administrative sanction for works of Rs.2 crore in each constituency provided it was properly backed by estimates and approval of the irrigation departments. He put the onus on the MLAs to take the initiative and complete such works and come up with more proposals for which there would be no shortage of funds. “Such proposals would be cleared by the Finance Department in six days,” he said.

Dr. Isaac said there would be “no shortage of funds” for any project proposal that were to come up before him. The Finance Minister denied the allegation that he had failed to provide funds for market intervention programmes of the Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation to keep the prices down. Disclosing the details of the funds released to Supplyco, Dr. Isaac said he had to function within the limitations imposed on him to go in for market borrowings. He would be able to mobile funds up to Rs.4,200 crores for the current year. Therefore the onus is on the public sector undertakings to clean up their balance sheets to borrow funds. In the case of Supplyco, the government would cover up its losses in market intervention.

The Minister said the funds earmarked for the EMS Housing Scheme in 2007-08 would be re-appropriated for renovation of houses under the ‘One lakh housing project.’ He said the Kerala State Housing Board owed HUDCO Rs.2,200 crore. However, he proposed to negotiate for a one-time settlement with HUDCO.

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