Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala’s approximately 60 lakh welfare pensioners have been left high and dry, as state Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal has presented five consecutive budgets since 2021 without granting even a ₹100 increase in the monthly welfare pension.
The government’s inaction has sparked widespread criticism, particularly as it reneges on a key electoral promise to raise the welfare pension to ₹2,500.
Five Years, No Movement
Balagopal has presented the revised budget for 2021-22, followed by full budgets for the financial years 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25, and 2025-26—a total of five budgetary exercises.
Critics point out that a minimal annual increase of just ₹100 per budget would have resulted in a ₹500 cumulative increase by now, raising the current monthly pension (which stands at ₹1,600) to ₹2,100. Even a small yearly raise of ₹40 would have meant an overall ₹200 increase.
Instead, the pension amount has remained stagnant since 2021, completely undermining the LDF government’s manifesto promise to raise the amount to ₹2,500.
Cruelty Amidst Extravagance
The delay is being slammed as “cruelty” by observers, contrasting the government’s apparent financial prudence towards the most vulnerable with its alleged extravagance in other areas.
”A government that indulges in lavish spending in every other aspect has committed an act of cruelty against poor welfare pensioners,” said a political commentator.
