Mani announces new relief measures

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Finance Minister K M Mani, whose 'alteration budget' was branded 'provincial' by even ruling party MLAs, on Thursday announced an additional expenditure of nearly Rs 100 crore by way of relief measures for low income groups and increase in allocations towards areas he was accused of ignoring in his budget speech on July 8.
Despite the extra expenditure, the Finance Minister said that the budget deficit was lower by Rs 280 crore than the budget presented by his predecessor. The Finance Minister made the additional relief announcements while replying to the general discussion on the Revised Budget for the financial year 2011-12.Among the two new relief measures announced by the Finance Minister on Thursday are increasing: the honorarium of local body representatives from panchayat members to Corporation mayors by Rs 1,000 and allocation of Rs 5 crore for setting up of a Forward Community Development Corporation which will look into ways to uplift the financially distressed among the forward classes. Mani brought back two measures taken out of Isaac's 2011-12 budget. The monthly allowance for anganwadi workers and helpers has been increased from Rs 550 to Rs 1,000. The allowance of Asha workers, too, has been raised from Rs 300 to Rs 500.