Keralam CM Satheesan tables White Paper on finances in Assembly, says "people have right to know"
Thiruvananthapuram, June 4
Keralam Chief Minister VD Satheesan on Thursday tabled in the Legislative Assembly the White Paper on the financial status of the State.
Satheesan, who has the charge of the finance portfolio in the United Democratic Front government in the state tabled the initial budget and white paper on the State's finances in the assembly following the United Democratic Front's election victory. The White Paper comes ahead of the presentation of the revised State Budget on June 19.
Addressing the assembly today, the Keralam CM said that no confidential or classified material has been included in the White Paper, adding that this action aligns with people's right to know the state of Keralam's finances.
"A point of order is ordinarily not raised before a White Paper is formally laid on the Table of the House. No confidential document has been disclosed outside the government. The White Paper has been prepared with the approval and consent of the Cabinet. The people of Kerala have a right to know the true state of the state's finances. The information contained in the document is already available in the public domain. There is no confidential or classified material included in it," he said.
Speaker Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan said that the White Paper has received the approval of council ministers and has been placed before the house.
"The White Paper has been placed before the House as an official document approved by the Cabinet. Since it has received the approval of the Council of Ministers, it carries the status of an official government document."
The White Paper comes ahead of the presentation of the revised State Budget on June 19. A committee chaired by former Union Cabinet secretary K M Chandrasekhar drafted the White Paper. Economist and former Director of the Gulati Institute of Finance and Taxation D Narayana, and Professor and Director of the Centre for Development Studies C Veeramani were other members of the committee and Additional Chief Secretary (Finance) K R Jyothilal was the convener of the committee.
Keralam Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan raised concern over the inclusion of experts to prepare the White Paper, stating that the responsibility lies with the Finance Department. He accused the Keralam government of "sidelining" the department over such an important exercise.
"The Chief Minister is trying to defend an untenable position. Successive governments in the state, regardless of political affiliation, have presented White Papers in the past, and they were prepared by the Finance Department. That has always been the established practice," he said.
"We have no objection to the government seeking expert advice. However, the preparation of a White Paper is the responsibility of the Finance Department, and that convention has been violated in this case. The Finance Department should not be sidelined or kept in the dark during such an important exercise," he added.
Satheesan clarified that the paper is prepared by the Finance minister and only the assistance of three experts was sought, arguing that the government deemed it fit to take expert advice while dealing with important policy matters. He also stated that White Paper is not a "political document".
"The government sought the assistance of three experts while preparing the White Paper. However, it was the Finance Department that prepared the document. This government has decided to seek expert advice while dealing with important policy matters. In the past, several White Papers presented before the Assembly were essentially political documents. This is not a political White Paper," he said.
"If the actual financial condition of the state is to be properly understood, expert guidance is necessary. That is precisely why expert opinion was sought. This document is intended to serve as a basic roadmap for building the future of Kerala," he added.
Satheesan said it is not a political document
Vijayan countered Keralam CM over the "political document" assertion, calling his argument "strange" while maintaining that the proper institutional mechanism should have been followed.
"The Chief Minister's claim that this is the only genuine White Paper and that previous White Papers were political documents is a strange argument. In fact, it is this document that appears to be a political document. The issue is not about consulting experts, but about ensuring that the White Paper is prepared through the proper institutional mechanism. That has not happened here," he said.
The White Paper revealed that Kerala currently faces a large burden of outstanding liabilities (₹ 5.07 lakh crore), committed expenditures (77% of Total Revenue Receipts - TRR), and interest payments (20.9% of TRR). Kerala's capital expenditure at 1.3% of its Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) is one of the lowest among the Indian states, despite running one of the highest Fiscal Deficits. Kerala has been violating the basic tenet of 'borrow to invest, growth will repay' in a big way, weakening the growth-generating capacity.
— ANI
Reader Comments
As someone who works in finance in Mumbai, these numbers are scary. 1.3% capital expenditure on GSDP? We're basically eating our seeds instead of planting them! 😱 Borrowing for consumption is a disaster. Hope this White Paper leads to real reforms, not just political point-scoring.
White Paper is good, but let's be honest - both sides are playing politics here. The real issue is that Kerala's economy needs structural changes. Tourism, IT, and remittances aren't enough anymore. We need manufacturing and agri-tech investments. Otherwise this is just another document gathering dust.
Interesting approach from Kerala. In the US, state financial disclosures are routine. The debate over expert involvement vs departmental process seems like a distraction. The key metric is that 77% committed expenditure - that's unsustainable. States across India should learn from this transparency exercise.
I'm happy they're being transparent, but where's the plan? 😕 White Paper shows the problem, but what's the solution? More taxes? Cut subsidies? As a middle-class family in Kochi, we're already struggling with rising costs. Hope the June 19 budget has concrete action, not just blame games.
P Pinarayi's critique seems valid actually. Why sideline the Finance Department? 🤔 The experts are good, but the institutional mechanism matters. However, I appreciate the transparency about the ₹5.07 lakh crore debt. We need to address this seriously. We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.