Keralam’s Kochi Corporation in a tight spot over Plan fund utilisation
The Kochi Corporation in Kerala is facing financial strain due to reduced state government funding and delays in receiving Central Finance Commission grants. Political opposition is criticizing the administration for poor fund utilization, while the Mayor defends the city's fiscal position.
Why it matters
It illustrates the common tension between local municipal governance and state/central funding dependencies in Indian administrative politics.
With just over six months remaining in the ongoing fiscal, the Kochi Corporation is staring at a tightrope walk in Plan fund utilisation amid a reduced allocation by the Keralam government, which the Opposition alleges has been significantly scaled down, while the Central Finance Commission grant is yet to be received.
So far, the Corporation has received only ₹7.89 crore of the ₹23.67 crore Plan fund allocation from the State government. However, even this has effectively been reduced to ₹80.70 lakh after deductions at source amounting to ₹1.42 crore towards the wages of anganwadi workers and ₹5.65 crore towards the loan component for the purchase of land at Brahmapuram. The Opposition LDF is gearing up to intensify its protest against the alleged tardy utilisation of Plan funds by the Corporation.
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