Thiruvananthapuram: The first budget by the newly-elected council outdid the previous budgets in terms of number of projects being announced. Deputy mayor P K Raju listed down 117 projects bettering the previous record of 113 by former deputy mayor Rakhi Ravikumar in 2018-19.
The list was so long that Raju didn’t even bother to elaborate on the schemes he announced. He read out the names of projects and matched them with corresponding cost estimates. A brief description that usually emphasizes the actual objectives of the project was included in the budget speech which Raju didn’t find necessary to read.
The budget with a projected surplus of Rs 130 crore showed an evident lack of homework as many of the projects looked like a hurried rehash of schemes of the previous councils. To add to that, P K Raju conveniently borrowed names of on-going schemes of various government departments like ‘Take a Break’ and ‘Nilavu’ LED project and presented it as fresh inclusions.
As if to prolong the list of projects, he rode on centre-sponsored schemes like Smart City and Amrut. Extension of sewerage lines, subways, vending zones, multi-level car parking, solar city, mosquito density measurement, and drinking water supply schemes were leisurely picked from the project components of Smart City and Amrut.
The budget even gave the impression of planning for a civic body that had just been converted from a remote rural panchayat. Unmindful of failure of projects aimed at promoting agriculture in the city in the past, Raju said that a kitchen garden in a house was equivalent to having a doctor at home.
“The aim is to make each family self-sufficient in vegetable farming in the city. Our city is rooted in agriculture and technologies that would enable farming in limited areas will be implemented,” he said. He also declared schemes in pisciculture employing aquaponics and biofloc fish farming. He announced ambitious schemes in agriculture including aid to farmers to cut infected coconut trees and to help them plant new ones with high productivity.
While listing down projects to promote coconut farming, fish farming and dairy farming in the city and welfare schemes like upgrading ‘laksham veedu’ colonies, Raju ignored the asset creation part and confined that aspect to a highly improbable shopping complex project. The discussion on the budget will be held on March 1 and 2.