LoP Pinarayi Vijayan reacts to Kerala Budget 2026, says welfare schemes ignored

Thiruvananthapuram: Leader of Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday criticised the state’s revised Budget 2026–27, alleging that key welfare and development schemes introduced by the previous LDF government have been overlooked and rebranded under the new UDF administration.

Reacting to Finance Minister V.D. Satheesan’s maiden budget, Vijayan said the proposals would have “grave consequences for farmers” and accused the government of ignoring core social welfare commitments while continuing only select legacy projects such as Vizhinjam.

He also alleged that several initiatives launched by the previous government had been “re-introduced under new names” in the revised budget.

Key highlights of Kerala Budget 2026–27

* Mission Samudra: ₹400 crore corpus to develop Kerala as a global maritime hub centred around Vizhinjam International Seaport

* Unified Port City project: Integration of 600-km coastline, 17 minor ports and two major ports via a multi-modal transport network

* Oommen Chandy Health Insurance (Indira Guarantees): ₹10 crore allocation offering up to ₹25 lakh cover per family

* Kerala Knowledge Valley: Proposed hub to attract foreign universities and academic institutions

* Invest Kerala Cell: Single-window clearance system targeting 10,000 new MSMEs

* Land law reforms: Utilisation of underused departmental land for industrial and infrastructure projects

* Administrative review commission: To examine restructuring of districts and taluks

* Public Works allocation: ₹5,952 crore for road and infrastructure development

* Agriculture sector: ₹1,535 crore support for farming and allied sectors

* Rubber MSP hike: Minimum Support Price raised to ₹250 per kg

* Aviation infrastructure: ₹200 crore for development around four international airports

* Wildlife conflict mitigation: ₹192 crore for human–wildlife conflict prevention measures

* Thiruvananthapuram Outer Ring Road: ₹100 crore allocation

* Malabar football stadium: ₹50 crore sanctioned for international-standard facility* Operation Toofan: ₹10 crore for anti-narcotics enforcement drive

* Makalkoppam project: Women’s safety initiative with increased deployment of women SHOs

* EV policy revision: Road tax reduction for electric vehicles

* All India permit relief: 50% tax reduction for operators

* Fair value land revision: Market-linked correction of land prices

* Employee benefits: Commitment to clearing DA and DR dues

* Cultural projects: Funds for Sree Narayana Guru centre in Delhi, MT Vasudevan Nair cultural park in Kozhikode, and Salim Kumar memorial in Ernakulam