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Centre to meet Kuttanad package expenses: Ravi

Vayalar Ravi: funding structure depends on formulation of projects.

KOCHI: Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Vayalar Ravi has said the “main financial burden” of the Rs.1,840-crore ‘Development of Kuttanad Wetland Eco-system’ project will be borne by the Union government, and not the Kerala government.

Refuting Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan’s accusation that the Centre had done a volte face on the funding of the much-awaited Kuttanad package formulated by the M.S. Swaminathan Commission, Mr. Ravi said this was an ‘ignorant’ statement. “The Chief Minister has either not studied the Centre’s ‘in-principle’ approval well or he has been misled on the issue,” he told The Hindu on Sunday.

Mr. Achuthanandan had said the State was let down by the Centre on the funding as the Centre had earlier indicated that three-fourths of the cost would be borne by it, but now the State had been told to foot three-fourths of the bill. The Chief Minister also linked the volte face to the Left’s withdrawal of support to the Manmohan Singh government.

Mr. Ravi pointed out that the Kuttanad package had been divided into 15 tasks and each of the tasks had different financial outlays. Only those schemes under these tasks involving a financial outlay of less than Rs.50 lakh would have to be funded by the State government. Most of these schemes were under Accelerated Irrigation Beneficiary Project. “In my estimate, the total expenditure the State government would be somewhere around Rs.4.65 crore only,” Mr. Ravi said.

He noted that the schemes proposed for improving the efficiency of the Thottappalli spillway and modernisation of the Thanneermukkam barrage were not expected to be taken up immediately as they needed detailed research and hence the State government would not have to bother about them right now.

The Minister, however, pointed out that the final funding structure would depend on how the State government formulated the projects under the package. Detailed project reports would have to be prepared and three committees would be set up.

The ‘in-principle’ approval given by the Union Cabinet on July 24 had mentioned that under the package, ‘the government of Kerala will, after identifying the activities to be undertaken, submit proposals after formulation of detailed project reports to the Minister concerned of the government of India in accordance with the approved guidelines/procedures for such schemes for release of necessary funds,’ Mr. Ravi said.

He also said that the Union government’s Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, and other Ministries had discussed the package with the Kerala government four times—on February 20, August 6, September 6 and September 26 of last year. However, he alleged, the State government had taken a long time to send a formal letter of acceptance of the package.

The focus of the Kuttanad package—implementation of which is expected to boost economic development of Alappuzha, Kottayam and Pathanamthitta—devotes roughly Rs.1,400 crore to the creation of infrastructure for expanding rice cultivation and thus improvement of Kerala’s food security.

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