KOCHI: With eyes set on the upcoming local body elections, two Twenty-20 ruled panchayats in Ernakulam district — Kizhakkambalam and Aikaranad — have announced more welfare projects for financial year 2025-26. Adding to the initiatives already in place, the two panchayats have decided to foot 25% of household power and gas bills.
“The local bodies will meet 25% of the electricity and cooking gas expenses of households to ensure that people don’t suffer because of the rising electricity and cooking gas bills,” Twenty20 coordinator Sabu Jacob told reporters on Monday. “An amount will be set aside from the panchayat surplus fund to pay the bills. The money will be paid directly to the accounts of consumers.”
Kizhakkambalam panchayat has a budget surplus of Rs 25 crore for 2025-26, while Aikaranad has Rs 12 crore. According to officials, the money will be returned to the people. Sabu said the amount has been set aside after completing all development and welfare activities.
In the next phase, the two panchayats expect to increase the payment to 50% for all ration card holders, except those holding white ration cards, benefiting around 75% of the households within their jurisdictions.
“Also, a monthly assistance of Rs 1,000 will be provided to cancer patients in the two panchayats. Projects worth Rs 71 crore have been included in this budget along with the distribution of bio-bins to all households to ensure effective waste management,” Sabu said. They have also decided to distribute study tables for school and college students and beds for the elderly.
The Twenty20 coordinator emphasised that the panchayats generated the surplus through corruption-free governance. “With quality construction of roads and bridges, annual maintenance works were no longer required. We avoided unnecessary expenses and increased income efficiently. An average of Rs 2.5 crore was set aside every year in both panchayats,” he pointed out.
This is the first time that panchayats have been able to save such high amounts even after completing development and welfare activities, Sabu claimed.
“The state government which is incurring daily expenses by borrowing money even to pay salaries should take these panchayats as a model,” he said.