Kannur: The state budget presented by Finance Minister K N Balagopal has drawn a clear contrast between neighbouring districts of Kannur and Kasaragod, with Kannur emerging as a major beneficiary of new projects while Kasaragod is left largely disappointed, with no significant announcement from its long list of pending demands.

Kannur got a string of new initiatives spanning sports, culture, logistics, health, education and infrastructure. Among the most ambitious is the Integrated International Sports Hub, for which ₹10 crore has been earmarked for preliminary works. Envisioned as a self-sustaining project, the hub will integrate world-class sports facilities with commercial real estate and is proposed to include a FIFA-standard football stadium, an FIH-standard hockey arena, a shopping mall and a four-star hotel. The government is exploring the feasibility of a public–private partnership model to implement the project.

Brennen College will see its sports facilities upgraded into a residential sports academy, with ₹2 crore provided for preliminary works.

Ports and fisheries
The district has also received allocations for port-led development. A total of ₹25 crore has been earmarked for preliminary works related to the Azhikode Greenfield International Port and the development of the existing Azhikode Minor Port, including ₹6.96 crore specifically for outer harbour works. The fisheries sector received attention too, with ₹5 crore allocated for a fish landing centre at Neerkadavu in Azhikode South.

Kannur's cultural and social infrastructure has also found space in the budget. A zoo safari park is proposed to be established at Taliparamba, for which the Finance Minister has allotted ₹4 crore. Plans have also been announced to establish cultural centres and corridors.

An Institute for Sustainable Development, drawing on Kerala's educational base, biodiversity and environmental commitments, will be set up in the district, with ₹2.50 crore allocated for initial works.

The Dharmadam-Vengad Global Dairy Village project has been given ₹10 crore. The budget has also set aside ₹5 crore for the construction of an underpass at the Dharmadam railway station.

Industrial park
Industrial and logistics infrastructure forms another pillar of the budget's focus on Kannur. A new multi-sectoral logistics facility has been allocated ₹2.50 crore, while ₹5 crore has been set aside for infrastructure development of a new industrial park in the district. Kannur will also receive ₹5 crore out of the ₹9.50 crore earmarked for three new industrial parks across Kannur, Kasaragod and Ernakulam.

The Pazhassi irrigation project has been allotted ₹13 crore, and ₹50 lakh has been provided for river embankment construction in the Kadavath Vayal area of Pappinisseri.

₹50 crore for cancer centre
In the social sector, the Malabar Cancer Centre has received a substantial allocation of ₹50 crore, reinforcing Kannur's role as a regional healthcare hub. An additional bench of the Kerala Administrative Tribunal will be established in Thalassery, with ₹28.01 lakh earmarked for related activities.

Kasaragod
Just across the district border, the mood in Kasaragod is markedly different. The district has failed to find a place in any of the budget's new flagship projects.

For the long-pending Kasaragod Medical College -- one of the district's most enduring demands -- only a token allocation has been made, as part of a combined ₹57.09 crore set aside for four new medical colleges across the state. While last year's budget had promised a government engineering college, this year the assurance has been a government nursing college.

Balagopal retained the ₹17 crore allocated for Endosulfan Package, a fund mostly used to settle medical bills of endosulfan-affected patients, and give a pension to caregivers. The Kasaragod Development Package has received ₹80 crore, up by ₹5 crore.

The proposed Periya airstrip continues to receive modest allocations, ₹1.10 crore this year -- even as earlier allocations have failed to translate into a detailed project report (DPR) or preliminary works. ₹50 lakh was allocated in the previous budget.

Kasaragod's budget announcements largely centre on small and medium infrastructure works. These include Kadavath Vayal  Kadavath Vayal ₹2 crore each for a foot overbridge and town hall at Kanhangad, ₹1 crore for the Kanhangad National Heritage Corridor and Cultural Complex, and ₹10 crore for the Integrated Rehabilitation Villages project. Road projects dominate the list, including ₹28 crore for the Parappa-Delampady-Ujampady road and ₹13 crore for a check dam-cum-bridge across the Karicheri river on the Ambilady-Matta road.

Other allocations include ₹5 crore for minor port infrastructure, ₹2.50 crore for industrial park infrastructure, ₹5.24 crore for a PSC district office building, ₹5 crore for the EMS Town Hall at Nileshwar, and ₹1 crore each for a catamaran boat service, a school stadium, a small fishing jetty at Manjeshwar, and a fish landing centre at Arikkady in Kumbla.