THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Opposition Leader V D Satheesan flayed the budget presented by Finance Minister K N Balagopal terming it as a repetition of hollow promises without considering the fiscal situation of the state.
Satheesan found fault with downsizing of allocation for several projects and said the Finance Minister presented the farewell budget of the LDF government as the cut in allocation would make the government dysfunctional.
"The government will become fully dysfunctional as the allocation is not enough to even cover the outstanding liabilities of various departments. The LDF government is pushing the state to the abyss of a catastrophe," Satheesan said.
Satheesan also criticised the hike in land tax by 50 per cent and added that trimming of plan fund and the land tax hike were anti-constitutional.
He said projects worth Rs 15000 crore has been trimmed in 2024-25 financial year. The funds were assigned after the assembly passed the demands for grant and the appropriation bill, which was ratified by thr governor.
"Reducing that fund via an executive order is a violation of articles 204 and 205 of the Constitution," he said.
Satheesan also mocked the Finance Minister saying that the 'Plan B' that he often mentioned was in fact about cutting the plan funds.
Satheesan further pointed out that the allocations have been trimmed for minority scholarships and projects for the SC/ST communities, which reveal that their welfare was not a priority for the government. The expenditure from the Life project was just 24 percent from the allocated Rs 500 crore, he said.