THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The trimming of plan fund for local bodies precipitated a war of words in the assembly with Opposition leader Pinarayi Vijayan accusing the government of abandoning the Nehruvian and Gandhian ways of local governance, while CM V D Satheesan hit back saying that the responsibility of the crisis solely rests with the previous LDF government.
Moving the notice for an adjournment motion, CPI’s G R Anil said the cut in plan fund has affected the functioning of the local bodies. He said the welfare activities and other development works of the local bodies have been badly hit due to trimming of funds by Rs 1,533 crore.
Satheesan in his reply took a jab at the opposition saying that Anil was pointing fingers at the former government which he was a part of. He said the LDF government had made a budget plan for Rs 35,000 crore of which there was no surety about availability of Rs 20,500 crore.
Because of that the UDF restructured the plan to Rs 30,000 crore and hence proportional cuts had to be made in all departments except SC-ST welfare and fisheries, he said.
He said the LDF government in its budget had laid down a plan fund of Rs 11,189 crore for the local body, which was adjusted by the UDF government in its revised budget to Rs 8,655.4 crore - a drop of Rs 1,533 crore.
He accused the previous government of not delivering the third instalment of the fund to the local bodies, which came to Rs 2,150 crore, and mocked that they were now concerned about Rs 1,533 crore about which the UDF government had apprised the assembly and the public.