UDF, BJP slam Kochi Corporation Budget

The opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) slammed the Corporation Budget for 2025-26 as a “debt- and user fee-driven” one, which, according to them, would burden city residents with higher living costs.

Addressing a press conference here on Monday (March 24, 2025), UDF councillors Antony Kureethara, M.G. Aristotle, and Henry Austin said that many proposals, such as making the city free of homelessness, had been repeated in previous Budgets but were yet to be fulfilled.

“There is no mention of the Fort Kochi-Mattancherry heritage zone in the Budget. Revenue from fees and user charges has increased from ₹38 crore to ₹55 crore, making life in the city more expensive, while administrative expenses have also risen sharply. Also, the fund allocated for canal rejuvenation is way too low,” they criticised

The Corporation Budget anticipated secured loans amounting to ₹40 crore but had not earmarked even a penny for repayment. Without funds from Cochin Smart Mission Limited, which financed the majority of projects, the civic body would have been in an even greater mess, they said.

They claimed that the proposal to issue municipal bonds to mobilise resources would be costly, given the Corporation’s inferior credit rating. Besides, investing funds raised in unproductive assets would push the civic body into a debt trap.

The Budget had no proposal for setting up protection bunds and sluice gates in tidal flooding-affected areas of the Corporation. Despite being led by the Left Democratic Front (LDF), the Corporation had failed to secure the requisite funds or recover arrears due under various heads, they alleged.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) councillors Priya Prashanth and Sudha Dileepkumar dubbed the Corporation Budget a deficit one disguised as a surplus. It lacked provisions to mobilise its funds or introduce any new city-specific innovative projects. It was merely a repetition of old projects, they added.

The Budget expected property tax revenue of just ₹172 crore, while arrears alone amounted to ₹328 crore. It relied on the extension of projects implemented by the State government or the Centre rather than devising its own initiatives. Moreover, there was no urgency to address loopholes in the collection of entertainment tax. Cinema remained the sole source of entertainment tax in a city that hosted a slew of programmes every month, the BJP alleged.