‘Capital’ punishment kicks up storm on social media

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The budget presented by Finance Minister Thomas Isaac on Friday has proved a profound disappointment for the state capital as it did not have any major projects or allocations for the district’s development. And there was no mention of major tourism and major infrastructure projects, including the development of Trivandrum Airport, either. Isaac merely read out the progress of the ongoing IT projects which turned out to be a letdown for IT professionals also.

The raw deal meted out to the state capital has kicked up a social media storm, with Facebook and WhatsApp being inundated by protest banners and memes from organisations championing the city’s development. Even as the budget allocated a whopping Rs 6,000 crore for the development of Kochi, the capital did not get a deserving fund allocation.

“The capital city is completely ignored in the budget. No major fund allocations were announced and demands of citizens have been ignored. Be it airport development or road projects, the budget has not mentioned anything. The much-touted Outer Ring Road project and the next phase of airport development were ignored.

The focus is only on Kochi- based projects. Being the state capital, the government should have accorded top priority to the development of the city. The `10 crore set apart for heritage development will not suffice. So it is a disappointing budget,” said E M Najeeb, entrepreneur and former president, Trivandrum Chamber of Commerce. The highest amount allocated for the capital is the Rs 350 crore earmarked for the ongoing Vizhinjam International Seaport project. The fund is allocated as part of the budget’s full allocation of Rs 1,000 crore for major infra projects proposed in the state. For infrastructure, the budget has allocated Rs 25 crore for the beautification of roads in the city. Being the headquarters of the IT sector, the city has been neglected as Isaac mentioned only the completed and ongoing projects and he has not allocated a single penny for future development.

According to S N Reghuchandran Nair, president, Trivandrum Chamber of Commerce, the budget has disappointed the people here. “2020 is an important year for the city. We expect more projects to be completed this year, including the Vizhinjam Port. But the government should have allocated the state capital at least half of the amount earmarked for Kochi. The land acquisition for the next phase of the airport has been completed. The next step is allocation of funds for the project. But it has not happened. As far as Kochi is concerned, people there lobbied strongly for the development of the city. I hold the MLAs representing the constituencies in the capital district responsible for the failure. However, we intend to call on the finance minister soon to impress upon him the need to accord top priority to the capital city as well,” Nair said. Meanwhile, Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran said the budget has given due consideration for the development of Kazhakkoottam constituency by announcing a mini civil station and other civic projects.