Kerala CM Satheesan Seeks Centre's Support for Key Projects After Meeting PM Modi, FM Sitharaman

CM Satheesan meets with PM Modi, FM Sitharaman, seeks Centre's support for Keralam projects

New Delhi, May 26

Addressing a press conference in the national capital, after meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Satheesan said he has sought the Centre's backing for his government's "dream projects" for the State.

"Following my oath of office, I visited the Honourable Prime Minister and the Honourable Finance Minister. We had a very detailed meeting. We discussed the various issues and priorities concerning Kerala. I requested all possible assistance for our dream projects," he said.

The Prime Minister's Office posted pictures from the meeting on its social media account.

"As you know, Kerala is currently passing through a significant financial crisis. I will not go into the full details of that now, as the government has decided to release a 'White Paper' regarding Kerala's economy in the first week of June," he said.

The White Paper is expected to outline the current economic health of the State and guide fiscal corrections

Addressing the longstanding friction between the State and the Centre, Satheesan said, "I did bring certain issues regarding Centre-State relations to the attention of the Prime Minister and Finance Minister. They indicated that there would be a positive stance," he said.

Stating that today's meeting with the Finance Minister was "a courtesy call," Satheesan said that he will return with a full, detailed presentation once the White Paper and Budget are ready.

"Currently, our economy is facing pressure from the drop in Gulf remittances and the rise in fuel prices. Kerala is a consumer State; when diesel prices go up, transport costs go up, and that leads to general price hikes. We are the State most affected by this," Satheesan said.

The Chief Minister said he has requested the Centre to exclude expenditures allocated for National Highway development from the state's net borrowing ceiling

Satheesan said that for the National Highway development, Keralam provided 25 per cent of the land acquisition cost, which amounts to Rs 5,580 crore and this has been transferred to the National Highways Authority of India.

"We have requested that this specific amount be excluded from our State's borrowing limit. Currently, our borrowing limit is 3.5 per cent of the GSDP, but 0.5% of that is conditional upon reforms in the power sector. Essentially, we only have a 3% limit. ...We presented these details to them," Satheesan said.

Further, the Keralam Chief Minister highlighted the shifting fiscal burden of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).

"Regarding MGNREGA, the Centre has decided that the state must now contribute 40% of the cost. This is a new burden placed on the state government for a scheme that was previously fully funded by the Centre," he said.

The Chief Minister said that his government is examining various departments to ascertain whether audits were not conducted.

He said his government is examining every department to see if funds are pending and why--whether it is due to legal hurdles, missing Utility Certificates, or unaudited accounts. "We aim to resolve these issues as quickly as possible so that we can receive the pending funds. This is the job of the State Government, and we are currently in the process of doing this before the budget," he said.

Satheesan clarified that the decision to shelve the SilverLine semi-high-speed rail project was made by the preceding Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) administration, yet the land acquisition notifications had remained in place, freezing property transactions for ordinary citizens.

"The current project was abandoned by the Centre and the previous State Government, not by us. For the SilverLine project, land acquisition notifications were issued, and ordinary people were unable to sell or mortgage their land for things like their children's weddings due to the pending notifications. This is a difficult situation. Since the project is currently stalled, we decided to de-notify that land to help the people," he said.

Further, the Chief Minister stated that the legalities surrounding the PM SHRI schools scheme are under review.

Satheesan reiterated his statement on the row over the Munambam Waqf land dispute after Keralam's Waqf Board registered the disputed land on the Union government's Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Act, 1995 (UMEED) portal.

"We have already commented on this. That move by the Waqf Board was against the provisions of the new law. The registration should be done by the Mutawalli. Why did the Waqf Board, under the previous government's political appointees, move to register this land at the last minute? They told the residents they wouldn't be evicted, but then took this action. Our government will protect those poor people. They will not be evicted. We will ensure they have the right to pay their taxes and have full rights to their land," Satheesan said.

The Munambam Waqf issue involves over 600 families, mostly Christians, facing eviction from 404 acres in Keralam after the Waqf Board claimed ownership. The dispute highlighted conflicts over the "Waqf by User" provision, amendments to the 2013 Waqf Act allowing suo-motu claims, and decades-long delays in resolution, now under Supreme Court scrutiny.

Satheesan also assured that the rights of the Munambam residents will be protected.

"I previously said this could be solved in 10 minutes, but the previous (LDF) government's actions made it complicated. We will handle the legal side of it," the Keralam CM said.

The newly elected Keralam Chief Minister in the press conference today also noted that the decline in remittances from the Gulf due to the crisis in the region and higher oil prices are impacting the State's economy.

"The backbone of our economy is remittances from the Gulf. The conflict there has affected us. The Central Government has increased oil prices four times. As a consumer state, this hits Kerala very hard because goods travel long distances by truck. Kerala already has high inflation. This oil price hike will put more pressure on our economy," he said.

— ANI