THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Hoping to revive the ambitious SilverLine project, which has been pending for long due to non-clearance from the Centre, the state has made a fresh pitch for the semi high-speed rail project.
Finance Minister K N Balagopal raised the issue at the finance ministers’ meeting on Saturday ahead of the Union budget. Raising a slew of demands ahead of the 18th Parliament session set to begin on Monday. The state also put forth the demand for a special package of Rs 24,000 crore before the Union government.
Urging that all necessary sanctions should be granted for the SilverLine project, Balagopal said the current railway network is inadequate to meet the demands of the people.
At the same time, Balagopal urged that better options should be brought in to enhance the existing railway projects. “The need for the semi-high-speed rail corridor should be considered by the Centre. More express and passenger trains should be sanctioned for Kerala to meet the increasing demand,” he said.
The finance minister pointed out that the state has been going through financial doldrums, and maintained that Kerala requires a special finance package for two years to bounce back.
At the meeting, Balagopal demanded that an additional financial package to the tune of Rs 24,000 crore should be announced for Kerala in the upcoming Union budget.
He said Kerala has made great strides in human resource development, sustained development, startup and modernity.
The borrowing limit for this year should be enhanced to 3.5 per cent. Also, the tax sharing between the state and Centre should be in a 50:50 ratio. Balagopal also demanded that the centre’s share of Rs 6,000 crore towards National Highway development should be provided without any conditions as loan.
The finance minister demanded another Rs 5,000 crore should be sanctioned in the next budget towards the under-construction Vizhinjam International Transshipment Container Terminal.
The finance minister also urged the centre to grant another Rs 5,000 package towards constructing a tunnel project linking neighbouring districts of Kozhikode and Wayanad.