New Delhi: Chief Minister V D Satheesan has assured that under no circumstances will the poor residents of Munambam be evicted. Speaking at a press conference held at Kerala House in Delhi, V D Satheesan  stated that a system for them to pay land tax will be established as quickly as possible, and full ownership rights over the land will be secured for them.

The Chief Minister also announced that a white paper outlining the dream projects envisioned for Kerala’s development will be released in the first week of June. He clarified that he had met with the Prime Minister and the Union Finance Minister in person to discuss the smooth implementation of these projects.

He expressed optimism that there would be a favourable stance regarding the financial issues in Center-State relations, adding that further steps would be taken after considering the Union Government’s suggestions on certain matters. He stated that it is as a continuation of this process that the decision was made to release a white paper to make the project details available to the public.

The Chief Minister requested the Prime Minister to exclude the ₹5,580 crore (25 per cent of the total amount) provided by Kerala for land acquisition for National Highway development from the state’s borrowing limit. Although the current borrowing limit is 3.5 per cent of the GSDP, 0.5 per cent of this is set aside for reforms in the power sector.

The Chief Minister pointed out that the liabilities incurred by KIIFB and the pension fund are also included within this limit, which severely impacts the state's borrowing capacity. He added that further details regarding this would be briefed to the Center after the white paper is released.