Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's 'Pathways to Nava Kerala' document, which was presented at the CPM State Conference, has put forward what is essentially hard neoliberal economic framework but upholstered with soft socialist cushion.

Pinarayi speaks of the need to increase cesses and fees and expand them to areas left untouched, and yet wants these levies to satisfy two conditions: one, it should not be burdensome; two, it should leave the poor alone.

Even this, Pinarayi's document says, has been forced upon Kerala. It says that the only way to beat the Centre's sustained fiscal embargo is find ways to mop up additional resources internally, the document says. "This is exactly what we are trying to do," Govindan told reporters at the Conference venue on Friday, March 7.

The document will be firmed up after discussions at the State Conference. Govindan said it was no use merely lamenting about the Centre's neglect. "If Kerala remains helpless in the face of the Centre's stifling ways, stagnation would be the result. We should find our own ways to stand on our feet," the state secretary said.

For people to trust the government, Govindan said all impediments to progress should be removed. "We have to adopt policies that would allow people to go on with their lives. Money is required for all of this," Govindan said, and added: "What the Nava Kerala document has done is to suggest ways to find the money for Kerala's sustenance."

Home advantage
One of the suggestions is for the local bodies to collaborate with the cooperative sector for the general public good. "Jawaharlal Nehru himself had famously said that cooperative bodies should function as the treasury of local bodies. But even after all these years, these two entities have not imbibed the spirit (of what Nehru said)," Govindan said.

An area of partnership Pinarayi's document has identified is the Life Mission. Life Mission has completed over 5 lakh houses but there is requirement for more in panchayats, municipalities and corporations.

"Local bodies could make use of funds readily available with the cooperative sector, which it can pay back with government grants. This way, the construction of houses can be accelerated, and many of the complaints (related to shortage of funds and delays) can be addressed," Govindan said.

Centre’s ‘cess’ pool
Finding revenues from areas where there had not been any fee increases for a long time is another strategy that has been mooted in the Nava Kerala document. It suggested that Kerala need not shy away from levies like cesses and surcharges that the Centre has unapologetically collected to shore up its finances. The document says that cesses and surcharges, which is not shared with states, formed 20% of the total tax revenue of the Centre.

Govindan said that the document wanted to "explore the possibility of imposing cesses. He hinted that by 'cess', the document was also alluding to levies like tolls. In fact, the Chief Minister had already spoken about the inevitability of introducing 'user fee' for KIIFB projects.

Restore class divide
Pinarayi wants these proposed impositions to be income-sensitive. "The fundamental question that we have raised is whether the wealthy should enjoy the benefits meant for the poor. Our class strategy is not to treat everyone as equal but to give extra importance to the poor," he said.

Govindan said that government hospitals in Kerala already have such an income-based fee structure. "The objective is to expand the scope of such charges," he said.

However, Govindan said that a decision on "cesses" and "fees" would be taken only after examining all sides of the issue. "Till now, I was only speaking of possibilities. A final decision will be taken only after these possibilities are rigorously examined and thoroughly discussed with all stakeholders concerned," Govindan said.

No strings attached
Encouraging capital investments in a big way is the other major approach unveiled in the Nava Kerala document. The document says that capital investments that come with zero conditions should be encouraged and utilised effectively for the good of the people.

"But while accepting such investments, we will not entertain any conditions that go against the interests of the state," Govindan said. He reasoned that this safeguard was enough to insulate the state from any harm.

Govindan, however, did not elaborate on the conditions that would be unacceptable to Kerala. For instance, would Kerala say no to investments that would harm the environment? Would it discourage investments that would require large-scale land acquisition?