Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has urged MPs from the State to voice protest in Parliament on the neglect of Kerala in the budget outlay for railway projects.
Presiding over a meeting of MPs here on Saturday, he said the Union Budget had turned a blind eye to priority projects such as the Nemom and Kochuveli railway terminals, Angamalay-Sabari, Thalassery-Mysuru, Kanhangad-Panathur-Kaniyur rail lines, automatic signalling system between Ernakulam and Shoranur, extension of Amrita Express to Rameswaram and a new train service on the Ernakulam-Velankanni route.
Mr. Vijayan said the Budget was silent on the proposal to introduce a facility for maintenance of LHB coaches in Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam, modernisation of the junction stations in Kollam and Ernakulam, and augmentation of the MEMU shed in Kollam.
He told the meeting that the long-awaited project to set up an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in the State had also been ignored in the Budget despite requests to the Prime Minister and others in the Union government.
He said the State had demanded extension of the GST compensation for five years beyond July 2022.
Neglect of Kannur airport
Mr.Vijayan urged the MPs to press the Union government to approve services by foreign carriers from the Kannur international airport. The passenger terminal at the airport was capable of handling nine million passengers a year and an integrated air cargo complex had been set up.
Several airlines, including Emirates, Etihad, Fly Dubai, Air Arabia, Qatar Airways, Oman Air, Saudia, Gulf Air, Air Asia, Silk Air and Sri Lankan Air, had expressed interest in operating services. Yet the Centre had adopted a negligent attitude to the airport in respect of the open sky policy and point of call. Denying sanction for foreign airlines would affect the very survival of the Kannur airport, he said.
The Chief Minister informed the meeting that the government would acquire 152.5 acres of land for the development of the Kozhikode airport on the condition that it would not be privatised. He called upon the MPs to raise their voice in Parliament against attempts by the Centre to bring in legislation on subjects in the concurrent list without consulting States.
Kerala, he said, had requested the Prime Minister for a ₹1,000 crore package to rehabilitate expatriates who had returned home following the COVID-induced crisis in many countries. However, there had been no response to the request.
He said the State government was willing to take over HLL if the Centre decided on disinvestment, and urged the MPs to press for handing over the Central public sector enterprise to the State without competitive bidding. He called upon them to protest the Centre's move to privatise BPCL and LIC.
