Thiruvananthapuram: Deputy Mayor Rakhi Ravikumar, in her reply before the budget was passed, did not respond to the observation that allocations for coastal wards were meagre. Even as there is discontent, councillors here hope to get the budget revised with more funds for various requirements. “We had proposed several projects earlier. Those have not been included in the budget. Now when the fisheries working group meets, we will raise the issues again,” Sheeba Patrick, Valiathura councillor said. She said that one of the main demands was to build houses.
When DC asked Rakhi Ravikumar about allocations for coastal wards being too little, she said that it was substantial as compared to last year. But, a project for which Rs 10 lakhs was set aside for 2016-2017 – mobile fish vending centre – has not found a place in this year’s budget. During the budget discussion, councillors had pointed out that the ‘Dahasamini’, a drinking water project for coastal area, would come to a little over Rs 2 lakh for each of the 17 coastal wards. The budget has set aside a total of Rs 35 lakh.
When asked about this, Ms Rakhi said that while it was the only project highlighted in the budget speech, there were several other projects. In Vizhinjam, a drinking water scheme has been allocated Rs 50 lakhs. To provide laptops in the Fisheries zone, Rs 1 crore has been allocated. The budget has allocated Rs 5.1 lakhs to provide financial assistance to SC/ST for a job abroad, and Rs 6.6 lakhs for developing fisheries-related facilities and generating employment. Rs 2 crores has been set aside for acquiring land and building houses for SC/ST beneficiaries. The LDF-backed Independent councillor Priya Biju had then said that this would eventually benefit just one person in each ward. Ms Rakhi told Deccan Chronicle that, if the councillors demanded more funds, it would be allocated in the budget.
