A ₹109-crore reduction in the Kozhikode Corporation’s Plan fund by the State government triggered a heated debate at the Corporation council meeting on Tuesday (August 4), with councillors from the LDF, UDF, and the BJP trading charges over the impact on the city’s development projects.

The discussion came up while the council was considering an agenda to revise the Corporation’s 2026-27 annual Plan by including spillover projects. Speaking at the meeting, development standing committee chairman V.P. Manoj said the State government had slashed the Corporation’s Plan fund from ₹132 crore to ₹23 crore. He said only ₹9 crore had been earmarked for the development sector, making it impossible to allocate funds for ward-level development works.

Mr. Manoj said the Corporation Budget had proposed allocating ₹35 lakh each to 26 wards and ₹30 lakh each to the remaining 50 wards for development works. However, the sharp cut in the Plan fund has made it impossible to implement the proposal, he said.

Responding to the criticism, Leader of the Opposition in the council S.V. Mohammed Shameel Thangal of the UDF said the previous LDF government had prepared Budgets based on unrealistic financial projections. He alleged that after revising the State Budget, the present UDF government found a revenue shortfall of ₹20,000 crore, forcing it to rationalise expenditure. The UDF government has corrected an unrealistic Budget and is attempting to restore fiscal discipline while ensuring development, he said.

Congress councillor K.C. Shobhitha alleged that the Corporation administration had failed to secure nearly ₹150 crore due to the civic body from the State government over the past 10 years and was now blaming the present government for the reduction in Plan funds. Another Congress councillor, S.K. Aboobacker, said the previous LDF government had left unpaid dues of around ₹12,000 crore to contractors, making expenditure cuts unavoidable.

BJP councillors Nambidi Narayanan, Navya Haridas, and T. Raneesh said the exchange of accusations between the LDF and the UDF would not address the concerns of people. They demanded measures to ensure adequate funding for ward-level development projects.

Deputy mayor S. Jayashree acknowledged that the reduction in the Corporation’s Plan fund had created a major crisis for development works. She said the Corporation would focus on increasing its own revenue to mitigate the impact.

Mayor O. Sadasivan described the loss of ₹109 crore in Plan funds as a serious setback to ward development. He said the Corporation would implement measures to enhance its own revenue and minimise the impact of the reduction.

The council also approved a proposal to temporarily shift the Kozhikode beach Fire and Rescue Services station to a Corporation-owned building behind the old Corporation office until the construction of its new building is completed.

Published - August 04, 2026 09:34 pm IST