Onam Special Gifts Kerala: In a festive move to support senior citizens from tribal communities, Kerala's Minister for Welfare of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Backward Classes, O.R. Kelu, has announced that the government will distribute Rs 1,000 each as an Onam gift. This initiative is part of the State-level Onam gift distribution ceremony, which took place on Friday at Plamoola Nagar near Thirunelly in Wayanad.
Mr. Kelu highlighted that this additional Rs 1,000, alongside the traditional Onam kits, is intended to address the historical hardships faced by tribal communities during the festival. The Kerala government aims to ensure that the difficulties of past Onam celebrations are not repeated.
To fund these festive expenses, the state has opted to utilize loans allocated for the last quarter of the fiscal year. Despite the state’s commitment to grand Onam celebrations, experts caution that this financial strategy might push the government towards a severe fiscal crisis. The central government has set a borrowing cap of Rs 37,512 crore for Kerala this fiscal year. As of now, the state has already exhausted Rs 21,253 crore of this limit, with only Rs 700 crore left. Consequently, the government is borrowing Rs 4,800 crore from the Rs 16,257 crore earmarked for significant expenditures in the final quarter.
Additionally, the government is securing Rs 1,000 crore at a 9% interest rate from a consortium of cooperative banks to cover two months' worth of welfare pensions. In anticipation of financial constraints, the government has planned a 50% reduction in plan expenditure for this fiscal year.
In a related announcement, the Kerala government will also disburse a two-month pension to over 60 lakh beneficiaries as part of the Onam festivities. Each of the 62 lakh recipients will receive Rs 3,200, supplementing the current one-month pension.
Furthermore, government employees will receive an Onam bonus of Rs 4,000 this month. Employees not eligible for the bonus will receive a special festival allowance of Rs 2,750. Service pensioners and employees under the contributory pension scheme will receive a festival allowance of Rs 1,000. All government employees will also be entitled to a festival advance of Rs 20,000, while part-time and contingent employees will receive an advance of Rs 6,000 on their salaries.
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