Fund squeeze: Pinarayi to meet Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on March 12
KOCHI: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will meet Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Delhi on Wednesday to bring to the Centre’s attention Kerala’s liquidity crunch due to cessation of GST compensation and revenue deficit grants. He is also expected to highlight the need for a special package to rehabilitate the victims of the Wayanad landslides.
Pinarayi has sought an appointment with Rail Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to push for the Centre’s nod for the revised SilverLine project as suggested by Metroman E Sreedharan. However, it is learnt that the meeting is unlikely as Vaishnaw is not keeping well.
Prof K V Thomas, the state government’s special representative in New Delhi, met Sitharaman on Friday and brought to her attention the fund squeeze the state was facing due to the Union government’s rigid stand.
“The minister said she was ready to discuss all the issues directly with the CM,” he told TNIE.
The cessation of GST compensation and reduction in revenue deficit grant have squeezed Kerala financially and the declining share from union transfers has added to its woes.