KOCHI: So far, it’s mostly been a case of promises made but not kept when it comes to the announcements concerning Kochi in the previous state budgets.
As Finance Minister K N Balagopal rises up to present his second full budget on Friday, the commercial and business capital of Kochi should figure high on his list of priorities, focusing on the implementation of announced projects and schemes even while laying out a roadmap for the coming years.
Ernakulam district is the powerhouse of Kerala. And, if the state’s economy needs to blast off, Kochi’s development has to fire on all cylinders. Some of the projects that require Balagopal’s attention include:
Construction of the Cochin Cancer Research Centre has been progressing at a snail’s pace
The SmartCity-Kochi, the growth-stalled IT park at Kakkanad (majority stake owned by Dubai Holding)
Filmcity needs a fillip
Over the past decade or so, Kochi has become the new capital of Kerala’s film industry with big studios (Lal Media, Navodaya Studio and Three Dots Film Studio) as well as smaller ones buzzing with activity. For an industry that generates so many jobs, there’s hardly any specific impetus given. The finance minister would do well to at least highlight the sector’s contribution to the state’s economy.
One must remember, from the 1970s to the late ‘90s, the entire back-operation works, from dubbing to editing, were done mostly in Chennai. All these works have now shifted to Kochi, and they deserve encouragement.
Tourism
Despite the fund crunch, Balagopal is expected to allocate more funds for Kochi Muziris Biennale, the international contemporary art exhibition at Fort Kochi and Mattancherry, the Muziris heritage projects and the Kochi Design Week.
It would be interesting to see if he gives updates on the projects he announced for Kochi in the previous budget. There was no dearth of promises for Kochi last time — ‘5G leadership package’ for Ernakulam-Koratty and Ernakulam-Cherthala (whatever that means!); plan for science parks near the Kochi airport; sustainable distribution chain within city limits for Kudumbasree products; and a proposal for “satellite IT parks”.
For the ‘5G leadership package’, Balagopal had promised to constitute a high-level committee comprising secretaries of information technology, power, and finance departments. To date, we have not heard about any progress on this.
Waste management, waterlogging
Kochiites would be keenly watching if there are any announcements on the reported shifting of the Kerala High Court to Kalamassery, and the perennial woes of waste management and waterlogging in the city.
Realistic budget
It is said that the second and third budgets of a government – cutting across political lines – would be the most realistic ones. The first one would usually ride high on the back of the election win, while the fourth and fifth ones are mostly populist with an eye on the next elections. This makes Balagopal’s budget on Friday even more special. Big talk and populist schemes are unlikely.
Nothing, however, stops him from thinking out of the box – like an IPO by a PSU or state-backed company such as Keltron, Kerala Minerals and Metals or even Cochin International Airport Limited. This would serve two purposes:
1) Obviously, it will help the state government raise some funds during these tough times.
2) It will give more visibility to the state government’s plans to revive PSUs. After all, it was able to list KIIFB on London Stock Exchange, surprising many skeptics, when it raised funds through masala bonds in 2019.
As the saying goes, if there’s a will there’s a way.
Unkept promises
There was no dearth of announcements for Kochi in the previous budget: