Governor hints at steps to check rising prices

The Kerala Budget, being presented in the State Assembly next week, will unveil the State Government's response to the dire situation being faced by the people on account of the price spiral with respect to essential items.

The prices have already been brought down by precipitate action at the highest levels, but more action will unfold for the short-to-medium term, according to Mr R.S. Gavai, State Governor.

CHEAPER GRAIN

Delivering his address to the Assembly ahead of the Budget session, Mr Gavai said foodgrain is already being distributed at Rs 2 a kg to 40 lakh families.

This, along with the supply of 13 essential items including pulses, sugar and spices, has made Kerala the only State to have been supplying them at the same price over the last four-and-a-half years.

This has helped control the food price inflation in the State, which is now rated only 17{+t}{+h} in the list of worst affected States according to the Labour Bureau of India statistics.

The Government would like to carry on with this effort, and will extend the supplies to all fair price shops at subsidised rates in a phased manner.

This is in addition to the Maveli Stores, and is expected to entail Rs 337 crore in expenditure. The Centre should meet half the cost of this new initiative, the Governor said.

HYPER MARKETS

Modern hyper markets will be opened at Thiruvananthapuram and Kottayam this month and at Thalassery, Karunagapally and Thiruvalla by the year-end.

A Supplyco (State Civil Supplies Corporation) shopping mall will be opened near Technopark, Thiruvananthapuram.

The Government is proposing an ‘Ari Sree' programme for streamlining various rice farming activities under different heads in the State.

The key element would be an institutional arrangement to facilitate informal leasing of cultivable fallow land to farmers, agriculture labourers, or self-help groups for intensive cultivation for a fixed period.

Farm technicians will be appointed and labour banks set up in the State, one each in every district, during the coming financial year.

RESEARCH STATION

A research station will be set up for spearheading research activities on problems being brought about by climate change.

A separate Department of Environmental and Climate Change has already been formed for effective and appropriate co-ordination of activities in environment management of the State.

The Government proposes to provide 10 lakh families with assistance for production of traditional varieties of vegetables to achieve self-sufficiency in this sector.

The Government proposes to develop a spatial data on paddy lands under its food security scheme, Mr Gavai said.

Financial assistance will be granted for the purchase of harvesting machines and interest-free loans disbursed for paddy cultivation.

FISHERY ADVISORY

The Kerala State Remote Sensing and Environment, in co-ordination with the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences, will implement a programme to disseminate satellite-based potential fishing zone advisories and establish a digital information system in the coastal areas.

As part of fishermen debt relief, the Government has written off 1.17 lakh loan accounts based on the recommendations of the Fishermen Debt Relief Commission.

The cooperative sector, which has successfully intervened in the professional education sector favouring poor students, will provide Rs 4,000 crore in loan to local bodies for implementing the EMS Housing Scheme.

Good progress has been achieved on implementing the Kuttanad package in the rice bowl of the State. The Government has forwarded detailed project reports worth Rs 2,843 crore to the Centre under the flood management programme.

WATERWAYS EXTENSION

During 2011-12, the Government plans to take up works on State waterways in the Varkala-Kollam stretch (35 km) and the Kodungallur-Ponnani stretch (90 km).

The Kochi Sea Port-Air Port waterway connectivity project linking the Cochin International Airport at Nedumbassery with the sea port through river Periyar and National Waterway III will be completed this year.

The Governor said it was gratifying to note that several States have sought the technical assistance of Kudumbashree, the Kerala's poverty eradication mission, to try out their own models.

Kerala has become the first to launch a parallel programme to the Mahatma Gandhi national rural Employment Guarantee Programme with similar entitlements for urban areas and named after the great social reformer Ayyankali.

TOURISM TRAINING

Kerala Tourism has designed an innovative human resource initiative named ‘Let's Learn,' to impart training to employees of existing hotels and travel and tour operation companies.

The Government has decided to set up a greenfield airport at Idukki, considering the tourist potential of the region, especially Munnar.

In anticipation of approval by the Centre, the State Government has already started preparatory works for implementing the Kochi Metro Rail project drawing from its own resources, Mr Gavai said.

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