LDF councilors stage dharna against ‘drastic decline’ in scheme allocation in revised state budget

The Left Democratic Front (LDF) councilors of Kochi Corporation will stage a dharna at the council chamber on Monday (July 13, 2026) to protest against the restructuring of allocation plans for local bodies in the revised budget of the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF).

In a statement issued here, VA Sreejith, leader of the LDF parliamentary party in the corporation, said this will have an adverse impact on the development of the city.

The revision led to a sharp reduction in allocations, including a drastic reduction in the company’s general development fund. From ₹133.34 crore in the previous LDF government’s last budget, it fell to ₹23.67 crore in the UDF government’s revised budget, a decline of ₹109.66 crore. Allocations under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe sub-plans were also reduced from ₹9.70 crore to ₹8.24 crore and from ₹2.59 crore to ₹2.20 crore respectively, a decrease of ₹1.45 billion and ₹38.7 billion respectively.

“This will create a crisis in infrastructure development, public health, waterlogging mitigation, road works, social welfare projects, housing, welfare of women and differently abled, education and upliftment of scheduled castes and tribes. Corporate governance will come to a standstill,” warned Mr. Sreejith.

In recent years, the company has received urban agglomeration grants under the 15th Finance Commission, which recognizes the special development needs of large urban centers like Kochi. However, changes in grant allocation and conditions set for withdrawals under the 16th Finance Commission, which will start functioning in 2026-27, are expected to severely hamper development.

The UDF currently controls both the state and the Kochi Corporation. The budget was prepared and presented by the chief minister from the district. Yet Kochi, despite its vital contributions to Kerala’s growth, has been ignored. Mr. Sreejith urged the citizens to stand strongly against what he called discriminatory treatment.

Published – 11 Jul 2026 21:12 IST