Add thelocalreport.in As A Trusted Source
Kozhikode, November 11 (IANS) Former Kerala BJP chief K. Surendran on Tuesday accused the state government of depriving citizens of the benefits of key central schemes by “failing” to release its share of funds. Surendran said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flagship program ‘Jal Jeevan Mission’, which aims to provide tap water to all households, is stalled in Kerala due to the state’s “inaction”. “The Center has already sanctioned Rs 7,600 crore, but the Kerala government has not released matching contribution,” he said. He alleged that similar negligence has affected many other central projects. The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U), which seeks to provide affordable housing, has made little progress, while the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, aimed at improving rural connectivity, has also been delayed. Surendran said that even though the Center has declared major cities of Kerala as smart cities, issues like waterlogging in Thiruvananthapuram remain unresolved. “Under the AMRUT scheme, Kozhikode received substantial central funds, which helped modernize vegetable and fish markets. Kochi Corporation was also allocated crores of rupees for waste management. Yet, due to excessive political interference from the state, the benefits of these schemes have not reached the people,” he said. The BJP leader also criticized the government for “blocking” the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana scheme and depriving lakhs of families of its benefits. “Kerala is the only state where citizens have been denied this coverage because the Left government wants to promote its parallel project,” he alleged. Surendran said this “failure” to cooperate with the Center is symptomatic of a larger governance crisis. “Many welfare and development schemes meant for common citizens are either delayed or ignored. The NDA offers an alternative political model to overcome this impasse,” he said. Surendran’s broad stance on the Pinarayi Vijayan government comes a day after it announced two-phase local body elections. Voting will be held in Kerala on December 9 and 11 and counting of votes will take place on December 13. –IANS SG/SVN