THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Among the councillors from various coastal wards saying there were not enough budgetary allocations was a LDF member. LDF-backed independent councillor Priya Biju, while describing it as a 'welcome budget', said it should be revised to include more funds for people in the coastal area. The budget has kept aside Rs 2 crore for an SC/ST project for buying land and building. She said that only one beneficiary from each ward would benefit from the project.
She said that while the fishing community will get all the benefits for scheduled tribes (ST), this only helped just one beneficiary. Only two coastal area projects have been highlighted in the budget speech. One is a drinking water project called Dahasamani which has been allocated just Rs 35 lakh. The budget has set aside Rs 50 lakh to set up JNNURM Resource Centres for providing counselling and medical help to teenage children in the coastal area.
Regarding Dahasamani, Valiathura councillor Sheeba Patrick said Rs 35 lakh when divided among 17 wards would be Rs 2.05 lakh. “There would be 10 or 20 lanes in each ward which would be 200 m. Will this money be enough for laying pipelines?” she asked. She said that with most people not having title deeds and unable to afford beneficiary share, none of the 600 applicants in Valiathura division has benefited from PMAY scheme.
