The trade and industry in the State have welcomed the Kerala Budget saying that the Rs 40,000-crore package for road development was timely and essential.

Mr Anand Menon, President of the Cochin Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said infrastructure development has been identified as a priority area and this initiative would go a long way in giving a thrust to the economic growth of the State.

Inflation

The Chamber appreciated the Minister's announcement for setting aside Rs 100 crore to fight inflation. Besides, the Budget had placed special emphasis on social sectors such as education, health, social security plans, pensions and women's welfare.

The decision to set aside Rs 158 crore for the Kochi Metro project would provide a thrust to ensure the speedy implementation of the project. However, the Chamber said the Rs 202-crore package for Ernakulam was insufficient and would not be enough to cater to the infrastructure/social needs of a fast-developing metro such as Kochi.

The Chamber said the problems in the plantation and marine sector and traditional industries had not been addressed adequately in the budget.

Mr Deepak L. Aswani, Chairman of The Kerala Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the decision not to increase any new taxes this year will boost trade and industry and will help the business community grow further. In addition, it would be a boon for new investors and would generate more revenue for the State Government.

Though the 2011 budget is a public-friendly budget, it has not mentioned constructive schemes to encourage the private sector.

Besides, it does not outline steps to generate the money needed for implementing the projects, he said.

The Chamber also welcomed the proposed special funds for the tourism and IT sector, the new system for renovating roads and packages to resolve traffic bottlenecks.

Traffic bottlenecks

Mr P. Pratapachandran, President of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the Finance Minister has given due consideration to the well-known traffic bottlenecks in the port city of Kochi with the allotment of new boats and various projects for the renovation of roads. The proposed ring road, if it becomes a reality, will be an added advantage to the proposed Vytilla Mobility Hub. Likewise, funds allocation for the Fort Kochi Mattanchery conservation project under UNESCO would give a facelift to West Kochi, he said.

However, the budget does not contain any specific proposals to attract private investment for accelerating the process of industrialisation. When viewed against the allocation of funds for revamping the agriculture sector and traditional industries, how far it would succeed remained to be seen, he added.

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