NEW DELHI: Kerala's hopes were dashed as Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's budget failed to announce any special tourism packages or pilgrimage tourism circuits for the state, despite its immense tourism potential. N.K. Premachandran, a leader from the UDF and Revolutionary Socialist Party, criticized the NDA, labeling it the "N-square dependent alliance" (Naidu-Nitish Dependent Alliance), and condemned the budget for neglecting non-BJP-ruled states like Kerala, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu.
Modi 3.0’s first full budget proved to be a major disappointment for Kerala. The state, struggling with financial stress and still recovering from the catastrophic floods of 2018 and subsequent years, had anticipated a special economic package. However, Sitharaman’s budget speech did not mention Kerala, even though flood mitigation packages were announced for several other states.
The ongoing dispute between the Kerala state government and the union government over borrowing limits has exacerbated the financial woes. The Kerala government argues that the union's fiscal policies have driven the state into distress, while the Centre blames poor management of public finances at the state level. Despite these challenges, Kerala hoped for compensation for the reduction in the finance commission grant and revenue deficit grant. The state had requested a Rs.24,000 crore package to alleviate its financial distress, particularly for national highway development, where the state bears 25% of the land acquisition costs. However, the budget offered no special relief.
Additionally, Kerala expected the announcement of an AIIMS and a special package for infrastructure development in areas associated with the Vizhinjam International Seaport, which is currently in trial operations. These expectations were also unmet.
While the budget gave special focus to farmers, Kerala’s rubber farmers were disappointed as the government did not raise the minimum support price to Rs.200, as they had hoped. Congress-led UDF opposition MPs from Kerala criticized the budget for lacking national character, pointing out that Bihar and Andhra Pradesh received special consideration to appease Nitish Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu.
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