Satheesan's Budget a Blueprint for Selling Keralam's Land, Sky and Water to Corporates: M V Govindan

Thiruvananthapuram: CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan has alleged that the budget presented by Opposition Leader V D Satheesan is essentially a preface to the complete privatisation of Keralam — handing over the state's land, sky and water to corporates. Satheesan, who claims to be a Nehruvian socialist, is, through this budget, attempting to shut down public sector undertakings and transfer their assets to private companies — a move, Govindan said, that runs entirely counter to Nehru's ideals.

When asked where the money for his proposed schemes would come from, Satheesan's answer is that it will be raised through privatisation, Govindan said. Behind the question of whether Keralam can move forward without depending on private capital lies nothing but an interest in selling off the entire state. It is now clear, he said, why Satheesan travelled to Mangalore on a chartered flight. All these trips are being made for Adani's sake, with Adani being their principal source of funding, he alleged.

Govindan further alleged that a deliberate move is underway to hand over Keralam's mineral wealth to corporates. Southern Keralam, particularly the districts of Alappuzha, Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram, is being carved up and parcelled out under various names for sale, with "Vision Samudra" being part of this plan. The mining of rare earth minerals, which has for the past 10 years been carried out exclusively by public sector undertakings, has now been decided to be handed over to private monopolies. Alongside this, efforts are underway to form a land bank and hand over land to corporates.

Following the Agricultural Land Reforms Amendment Act passed on October 14, 1969, Keralam has a proud history of distributing surplus land to farmers, the poor and lakhs of landless SC/ST families, Govindan said. Today, however, Satheesan is attempting to hand over all of this land to corporates, with even Nedumbassery Airport reportedly under consideration for sale. Through this budget, he said, Satheesan is merely trying to implement what was already outlined in the earlier White Paper. The sum total of this budget, Govindan said, is that all its schemes remain confined to paper — projects will be announced and foundation stones laid with great fanfare, but nothing will ever be completed.

Govindan said that even as the state faces a severe economic and developmental crisis on one front, a tussle over posts is playing out within the Health Department on the other. At a time when the spread of infectious diseases has left the public deeply anxious, even a crucial review meeting of the Directorate of Health Services (DHS) had to be called off owing to a dispute among departmental heads — an episode, he said, unheard of in Keralam's history and clear proof that the government has completely failed to handle such a serious situation.

He pointed out that the government, driven by vested interests, had earlier transferred and demoted Dr K J Reena, the then DHS. After she approached the tribunal and obtained a favourable order and returned to office, Dr Meenakshi, who had been temporarily appointed by the government, has refused to vacate the post and continues to remain in charge. Even at such a critical juncture, the government has no clarity on how to resolve this crisis, Govindan said, demanding that such moves jeopardising public health be ended immediately and that the government intervene without delay to find a resolution.