CM Satheesan meets PM Modi, FM Sitharaman; seeks Centre’s support for state's projects

New Delhi: Kerala Chief Minister V D Satheesan on Tuesday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi in his first official meetings with the two leaders after assuming office.

Speaking at a press conference in Delhi after the meetings, the chief minister said he discussed Kerala’s issues and priorities with the Prime Minister and the finance minister and requested the Centre’s support for Kerala’s 'dream projects'.

Stating that he had communicated to the leaders that Kerala was currently facing a financial crisis, he said the state government would release a white paper on the financial situation in the first week of June. He would not go into financial details before the release of the document, he added.

The Prime Minister and the finance minister were also informed about certain 'difficulties' in Centre-state relations, to which both responded, saying suitable steps would be taken, Satheesan said, adding that the Centre had also raised certain matters which the state government would examine further.

The chief minister said detailed reports on various projects would be submitted to different Central government departments. Referring to the National Highway project, Satheesan said the Kerala government had provided ₹5,580 crore for land acquisition and transferred the amount to the National Highways Authority of India. The state has requested the Centre to exclude this amount from Kerala’s borrowing limit.

The state's borrowing limit under GSDP norms was officially 3 per cent, but due to conditions attached to the limit, the effective borrowing capacity was around 3.5 per cent, he said, also pointing out that liabilities related to KIIFB and the pension fund were still pending.

The chief minister said these matters were discussed with the Prime Minister and would be taken up further with the Centre after the release of the white paper. It was being examined whether Kerala had received all eligible funds from various Central government departments, he said, asserting that the state government would work to secure Kerala’s rightful share in Central schemes by removing legal and administrative hurdles.

The chief minister said the government was also examining whether any departments failed to receive funds due to audit-related issues or delays in submitting utilisation certificates.

Responding to questions on the PM SHRI scheme, Satheesan said legal aspects were being examined in detail as the previous government had agreed to the scheme. The matter had already been discussed in the Cabinet meeting.

On the SilverLine project, Satheesan said the previous government had effectively dropped the project. However, he clarified that the government recently denotified the project to help people facing issues related to land acquisition.

The chief minister also said the government has asked the KIIFB team to submit a report and that a decision would be taken after assessing the liabilities based on the findings.

Referring to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Satheesan said the Centre has now decided that states should bear 40 per cent of the scheme's expenditure. He said the scheme was initially fully funded by the Centre and that the new arrangement would place an additional financial burden on the state.

Waqf row
Speaking on the Waqf issue related to the Munambam land dispute, Satheesan alleged that the registration of the land on the UMEED portal was against the law. He questioned why the Waqf Board registered the land at the last minute, soon after the previous government demitted office. The chief minister alleged that the confidence for such actions was provided by ministers in the former government and claimed that the previous administration had supported the Waqf Board’s stand that the land belonged to it.

Satheesan accused the BJP of attempting to turn the issue into a religious dispute and said the UDF had intervened to prevent tensions from escalating. He further alleged that the previous Pinarayi Vijayan government had allowed the issue to become more complicated before the UDF came to power. The chief minister assured that poor residents living on the land would not be evicted.

The statement comes after the Kerala State Waqf Board uploaded details of the disputed Munambam land into the Union Government’s centralised UMEED portal, digitally reinforcing its claim over the property and deepening fears among residents that the dispute is becoming institutionalised in official national records.