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Budget will help State dream big, says Isaac

KOCHI: Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac has expressed optimism that the budget for 2009-10 will help the State dream big.

He was speaking at his first post-budget meeting with trade and business here on Sunday. The interactive session was arranged by the Kerala Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

This is not the end of the world, Dr. Isaac said, referring to economic recession which the budget, he said, addressed. The budget itself, he said, was not a populist one but one with a perspective.

Dr. Isaac said preparing the 2009-10 budget was a challenge, but he was satisfied that he had addressed the key issues.

Faced with economic recession, wisdom lay in increasing government spending. To this end, he said, the government would augment spending on infrastructure development.

He reiterated that Kerala would demand a one per cent increase in the borrowing limit from the Union government in view of the requirement for money mobilisation.

The Rs.10,000 crore being mobilised over the next two years to meet the recession would help provide a new impetus to the economy.

Dr. Isaac said he expected nearly Rs.5,000 crore direct investment in a year.

He said Plan projects would be monitored closely to see how they were being implemented.

From April, the progress of major projects being launched would be available online for assessment. The projects would be implemented in a transparent manner, he said.

He said the e-tendering process would help eliminate collusion between contractors when tenders were called for various projects.

An incentive system for projects completed on time and penalty on projects completed after the stipulated time were expected to help in implementation of projects more efficiently. He said that rates would be revised in April every year to take into account the differences in project costs over the year.

He said the State should build its infrastructure during the recession so that when investors come in, they would find an ideal location for investments.

V.D. Satheesan, MLA, questioned the timing of certain measures such as increasing the lease rent rates on revenue land.

Mr. Satheesan said capital expenditure should have been kept in proportion with the stimulus package of Rs.10,000 crore and the resource mobilisation appeared measly.

K. M. Abdulla, president of the Kerala Chamber of Commerce and Industry, welcomed the gathering. Mathew Kurvithadam, Director (Finance) of the Chamber, proposed a vote of thanks.

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