Kerala Cabinet approves annual Plan of Rs. 20,000 crore .

The State Cabinet has approved State Annual Plan for 2014-15 with an total outlay of Rs. 20,000 crore. This is higher by 17.65 per cent than the current year's plan, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said.

Major projects such as the Vizhinjam International Seaport; the Kochi Metro Rail; Kannur Airport; monorail in Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode; and the suburban rail corridor will all get adequate funds next year. The Chief Minister said that the Plan proposed 50 per cent increase in allocation for large-scale infrastructure projects (Rs. 1,125 crore against about Rs. 846 crore this year).

An amount of Rs. 413.76 crore has been set apart for special area development, including those for hill and coastal areas and Kasaragod district.

Agriculture and allied sectors have received an outlay of Rs. 3,444.55 crore. An allocation of Rs. 3,711.76 crore is proposed to be made for industries and infrastructure development.

HBL