Thiruvananthapuram: With a little over a month left for the local body elections and months to go for the assembly polls, the Kerala government Wednesday made a slew of big announcements, including new schemes and upgrades to existing ones, with outlays amounting to over Rs 10,000 crore.
The moves include a Rs 2,000 hike in the monthly welfare pension, and an increase of Rs 1,000 in ASHA workers’ honorarium. The Left Democratic Front (LDF) government has also introduced a scheme for women’s security, which would involve a monthly payment of Rs 1,000.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that the government is committed to ensuring the welfare of its people. He added that Kerala has been able to achieve many milestones, including freeing itself from extreme poverty, despite the Centre’s ‘imposition’ of financial restrictions on the state.
“The government that came to power after winning the 2016 election was able to retain power in 2021 because of the strong public support it had earned. The 2021 results reflected the people’s approval for continuing the development and welfare initiatives carried out over the previous five years with even greater vigour,” he remarked.
In 2021, the Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF had retained power in the assembly by winning 99 of the total 140 seats. With assembly elections approaching by April next year, it is hoping for a hat-trick win under his leadership. Kerala is also set to witness local body polls in December this year.
On 1 November, the state’s Foundation Day, the Pinarayi government is going to declare Kerala the first state to be free of extreme poverty.
As part of the cabinet decisions announced Wednesday, the state government will now increase its monthly social security pension to Rs 2,000. At present, the government pays Rs 1,600, covering approximately 62 lakh people, including the elderly, widows and agricultural labourers. The welfare pension was Rs 600 in 2016, which was gradually raised by the Left.
Another key announcement pertains to the hike in the honorarium for the ASHA workers, who have been engaged in a protest since February this year for various demands, including increasing the monthly honourarium to Rs 21,000 and a retirement benefit of Rs 5 lakh. At present, the Kerala government gives them a monthly honorarium of Rs 7,000.
Following the announcement, the protesting workers said that the Rs 1,000 increase had been earned after protesting for over 260 days. However, they said they would continue the protest as there was no mention of retirement benefits.
“We will continue the protest, but we will decide on the nature of the protest soon. Today’s press conference also revealed that the state government knows whether the state or the Centre should increase the honourarium,” the protesters said Wednesday.
Kerala Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal said the decision was made with confidence, even though the financial commitment of over Rs 10,000 crore is huge. “In the last four years, we have seen a revenue increase. If we had announced it in the March budget, it would have been seen as an election move. Now it’s going to be rolled out in November itself,” Balagopal said.
However, the opposition Congress said LDF could have announced these moves in the previous budget if it actually cared about people’s welfare. “Everyone knows that it’s an election stunt. They know that they don’t have to pay this, and the next government will have to. Otherwise, they could have announced it in the budget. In the budget, they slapped taxes on people,” senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala said.
Also Read: Curious case of Kerala’s Left alliance: Divided on policy, united by power
Other big announcements
Among the notable announcements is a new women’s security scheme, which will provide monthly financial assistance of Rs 1,000 to women from families holding AAY (Antyodaya Anna Yojana-yellow card) or PHH (Priority Household–pink card) ration cards, and trans women aged 35–60 who are not beneficiaries of any other social welfare pension. The chief minister said the scheme would benefit a total of 31.34 lakh women at an annual expenditure of Rs 3,800 crore.
A monthly stipend of Rs 1,000 will be given to youngsters aged 18-30 as part of the ‘Connect to Work Scholarship’. This scholarship will be for students pursuing skill development courses after Class 12, ITI or graduation, and those preparing for recruitment or competitive exams, whose family’s monthly income is less than Rs 1 lakh. The government has allocated Rs 600 crore annually for this programme.
The government has also announced a monthly operational grant of Rs 1,000 for each of the 19,470 Area Development Societies of Kudumbashree. A women’s empowerment initiative started in 1997, Kudumbashree is a three-tier system consisting of Neighbourhood Groups (NHGs), Area Development Societies (ADSs), and Community Development Societies (CDSs).
Additionally, the government has also hiked the monthly salary of pre-primary teachers and ayahs by Rs 1,000, and that of guest lecturers by Rs 2,000.
Other announcements include higher funds under the health department to ensure timely financial assistance for patients suffering from leprosy, cancer and tuberculosis.
An amount of Rs 110 crore will be sanctioned to Supplyco to clear dues under the market intervention scheme, and the state government has also announced it will make the pending payment for paddy procurement. An amount of Rs 194 crore will be sanctioned to meet expenses under the National Food Security Act.
“Let me reiterate, the experience of the past ten years shows that there has been no compromise in fulfilling the assurances we made to the people when we took office in 2016 and 2021. By choosing continuity of governance in 2021, the people of Kerala have enabled our State to move forward confidently through all crises. With the wholehearted support of the people, the government will continue its determined efforts to build a Nava Kerala (New Kerala),” CM Vijayan said.
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)
Also Read: Kerala’s LDF govt blinks as ally CPI dials up dissent. Inside feud that pumped the brakes on PM SHRI